Elegant gazpacho

Whenever I’ve made or eaten gazpacho, it’s been a chunky red and green mixture of tomato and cucumber – fresh and delicious and casual.


So when my uncle offered me a sample of some gazpacho he’d recently made, I was surprised to see that it was beautifully orange-pink and as smooth as cream!  Definitely a more sophisticated version.


The recipe is from Jose Andres, of the DC (and now nationwide) restaurant empire that includes Jaleo, minibar, Oyamel, and The Bazaar.  


So armed with his recipe, I tried my hand at an elegant gazpacho.

I made a few small tweaks – like red bell pepper instead of green, since I find the latter too strong (orange or yellow would be good too!), and champagne vinegar instead of the more authentically Spanish sherry vinegar (as it was all I had around).


The key to making a very smooth gazpacho?  Blend the vegetables together thoroughly and then pour the whole mixture through a strainer.


What you end up with is a silky liquid with all the richness of olive oil and the flavors of tomato and vinegar and bell pepper, with none of the distraction of those pesky cucumber shards.

Elegant gazpacho
2 lbs tomatoes
1 large hothouse cucumber (1/2 lb)
1 red bell pepper
1 large garlic clove
2-3 tbsp sherry or champagne vinegar
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup very good olive oil
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt




Place a wire strainer (not too fine) in a large bowl.


Remove and discard tomato cores, then chop roughly.  Peel cucumber and chop.  Peel bell pepper, remove ribs and seeds, and chop.  Peel garlic clove and cut in half.


Put all vegetables in blender, along with 2 tbsp of vinegar and 1/3 cup water.  Blend thoroughly.  Taste, and add additional vinegar if desired.


(If blender is getting too full, pour some of the mixture into the strainer in the bowl.)


Add olive oil and salt and re-blend.


Pour entire mixture into the strainer, pressing through with a rubber spatula.


Chill gazpacho until serving, at least 1 hour.


Garnish with cherry tomatoes, basil, chive blossoms, croutons, a drizzle of olive oil… or whatever else you fancy!




Adapted from Jose Andres’ Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America, “Gazpacho al Estilo de Tichi”