Description
Alton Brown’s gazpacho recipe delivers a refreshing Spanish classic perfect for summer days. Simple ingredients blend into a cool, zesty soup that brings Mediterranean flavors directly to your table.
Ingredients
Scale
- 1 ½ lbs (680 g) vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 1 cup (150 g) cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
- ½ cup (75 g) red bell pepper, chopped
- ½ cup (75 g) red onion, chopped
- ¼ cup (60 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- ¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- ½ tsp toasted, ground cumin
- 1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
- 1 medium garlic clove, minced
- 2 tbsps (8 g) fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
- 2 tsp (10 ml) balsamic vinegar
- 2 tsp (10 ml) Worcestershire sauce
- 2 limes, juiced
- tomato juice
Instructions
- Tomato Blanching: Bring water to a rolling boil, score tomato bottoms with an X-cut, submerge for 15 seconds, then transfer to an ice bath for 60 seconds to stop cooking.
- Tomato Preparation: Peel tomatoes, extract seeds through a fine-mesh strainer, capturing additional juice and pressing pulp gently.
- Flavor Infusion: Combine tomato pieces, juice, extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, red onion, jalapeno, garlic, and cucumber in a large mixing bowl.
- Blending Technique: Puree 1 1/2 cups of the mixture in a blender for 15-20 seconds until smooth, then reincorporate into the remaining ingredients.
- Flavor Development: Refrigerate the gazpacho for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight, allowing ingredients to harmonize and intensify.
- Presentation: Garnish with delicate basil chiffonade just before serving to enhance aromatic complexity.
Notes
- Blanch Tomatoes Perfectly: Create an X-cut at the bottom of tomatoes before boiling to ensure easy skin removal without compromising the fruit’s integrity.
- Maximize Juice Extraction: Gently press tomato seeds through a fine-mesh strainer to capture every drop of flavorful liquid, enhancing the gazpacho’s rich consistency.
- Chill for Flavor Depth: Refrigerate the gazpacho for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight, allowing ingredients to marry and develop a more complex, robust taste profile.
- Garnish with Precision: Add fresh basil chiffonade just before serving to introduce a vibrant, aromatic finishing note that elevates the entire dish’s sensory experience.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 2 minutes
- Category: Lunch, Appetizer
- Method: Blending
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 4
- Calories: 150
- Sugar: 6 g
- Sodium: 600 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 2 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 10 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 10 g
- Fiber: 3 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg