Gazpacho Recipe

Intimidated by this classic chilled Spanish tomato soup? Don't be. "It's pretty impossible to make a mistake when you're making this gazpacho recipe," says Maren Epstein, chef and writer behind Eating Works. "Even if you don't like the way it tastes, you can always change the flavor by adding more water, salt, pepper, tomatoes, less vinegar, more onion," and on it goes.

Not only is gazpacho a forgiving foodstuff, it's also a great way to make a delicious starter soup (or a whole light lunch in a bowl) when you have more produce on hand than you know what to do with, thus minimizing food waste. And don't stop with starter soup or little lunch, either. "You can also serve it in little shot glasses as an hors d'oeuvres," says Epsten. And in the warmer months, this "refreshing" soup "pairs well with light summer dishes like salads, roasted vegetables, and seafood."

And don't worry if you made too much, as this gazpacho recipe will keep for more than a week in the fridge and can even be frozen. Just "don't freeze it with the avocado in," Epstein warns.

There are a ton of gazpacho recipes out there, and not one of them can claim to be the best because this chilled soup is all about personal preference. If you love spice, add some jalapeños or even habaneros. Love celery? Add celery. Go heavy or easy on citrus. Experiment with herbs. And so on. 

But for an approachable, sure-to-please take on gazpacho, you'll need three large tomatoes, chopped, two bell peppers, sliced and deseeded, half an English Cucumber, diced (you can finely dice the other half for garnish), a medium onion, chopped, one bunch of radishes, diced, two limes, juiced, a half bunch of cilantro, roughly chopped, a half cup of olive oil, about a half cup of red wine vinegar, a tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, about an eighth teaspoon of oregano, salt and pepper to taste, about a half cup of water to thin (to taste), and cubed avocado as a garnish and to add some heft.

Preheat your broiler to 500 degrees Fahrenheit or on high. Slice your peppers for this gazpacho recipe and remove the seeds (and also white veins for a milder soup) and then lay the peppers on a foil-lined baking sheet. Drizzle the peppers with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. 

Now, broil the peppers until the skin starts to blister, which should take about six or seven minutes, then remove them from the heat at set aside to cool. You'll be using these in a minute after you prep the other ingredients.

Now it's time to chop and slice and dice all the veggies for this gazpacho recipe (except for the avocado, which we'll deal with right before serving). Cut everything into rough portions without too much worry about precision because we'll be blending it all. Measure out your vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and herbs, ready the lime juice, and prepare a bit of salt and pepper to add to your soup.

Now all that's left is the blending. (Oh, and the avocado.)

As with the gazpacho recipe ingredients, the level to which you blend your gazpacho is also a matter of choice. You can puree it right on down to near liquid form, or you can leave it much more thick and chunky, akin to a pico de gallo or salsa. All you need to make sure you do is blend it enough for flavor mixing.

Toss all ingredients (save the avocado and the radish) into a blender and work the pulse button to blend it just as much as you want, adding water as needed for a thinner soup. You can also taste as you go and work with the ingredients at this stage. Oh, and also, aside from topping the soup with diced avocado, chopped celery, some croutons, and perhaps a few leaves of cilantro for garnish, this is already the last step — you did it!