Having grown up in Spain since 1996, how could I not include a healthy gazpacho alternative?
For those who are unfamiliar with the name, gazpacho is one of the most popular Andalucian dishes, served as a starter, a tapa or main meal. It’s basically a refreshing cold tomato soup, perfect for hot summer days.
In my family, gazpacho is one of our staple foods. It’s just so easy to make, and tastes great! We even serve this to our Spanish friends and they can’t taste the difference from “normal” and raw gazpacho.
Serves 3 (makes 1.5 litres)
Equipment: blender
Ingredients for a raw vegan gazpacho:
For the tomato soup:
- 3 big tomatoes (3 cups)
- 1/2 red pepper (1.5 cups)
- 1 medium cucumber (1 1/4 cups)
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 1 tbsp. apple cider vinegar
- 1-1.5 tsp. salt
- 1 garlic clove
For the toppings, pick any:
- Cucumber
- Avocado
- Pepper
- Onion
- Tomato
- Cilantro or any other fresh herbs
A little bit of gazpacho history
The very first gazpacho was made using just stale bread, water, vinegar and garlic, and sometimes with added vegetables. This soup was very common amongst villagers. After Columbus came back with tomatoes and cucumbers, the soup evolved into what it is today.
Traditionally it is made by crushing the vegetables using a pestle and mortar, but of course we’re not going to do that today. Unless you really want to use it, that’s always fun!
How to make a raw vegan gazpacho
- You simply blend all of the soup ingredients in a high speed blender (I recommend a Vitamix or a Blendtec).
- For the toppings, use any vegetables you like and cut them into small cubes. It’s nice to vary these from time to time to make it taste different. Personally my favourite are cucumber, avocado and red pepper.
If you have small shot glasses, you can also serve this at parties.
