Gazpacho . Spanish soup, for my friends in Singapur

Gazpacho with blended ingredients

Ingredients for a typical gazpacho.

1Kg.red ripe tomatoes
1 green and small peeper
1 small cucumber
30 gr dried bread
1 piece of garlic
2dl olive oil
1/2 dl vinegar
1L water
a pinch of salt


Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.
It descends from an ancient Andalusian liquid concoction based on a combination of stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar. Tomato was added to the recipe after it was brought to Europe after the Columbian Exchange which began in 1492.

In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include tomato, cucumber, red and green pepper, onion, garlic, soaked stale bread, fresh parsley, olive oil, Sherry Vinegar, chilled water and salt. Some may also include sugar.

The following is a typical method of preparing gazpacho:
The vegetables are washed and the tomatoes,and garlic are peeled.
All the vegetables and herbs are chopped and put into a large container. The soaked bread is then added.
The contents of the container are then blended until liquid.
The chilled water, olive oil, vinegar and salt is then added to taste.
Traditionally gazpacho is made by pounding the vegetables using a mortar and pestle. This method is still sometimes favored as it helps keep the gazpacho cool.

Gazpacho with diced ingredients.
In addition to the blended vegetable ingredients, it is also usually accompanied by different garnishes. These include the same vegetables the soup already contains, chopped up, as well as croutons and chopped hard boiled egg The garnishes are served in separately so the consumer can add them to the soup themselves. Sometimes, ham (e.g. jamón serrano, jamón ibérico etc.) can also be found amongst the garnishes. In Extremadura, gazpacho with local ham is called gazpacho extremeño. This time, the ham tends to be added to the soup in the kitchen prior to serving (unlike the other garnishes which are added at the table).

Gazpacho may also by serve with ice cubes if it has not had enough time to chill before serving.