Cold cucumber gazpacho? Don’t worry, the Spaniards will not laugh at you if you cook their legendary red soup in the green option.
Actually, gazpacho became red only in the 16th century, when Europe first saw tomatoes, thanks to Columbus. Before this, the soup was prepared from bread crumbs, olive oil, vinegar, and garlic. Now green cold cucumber gazpacho is most often found in the province of Huelva and the Sierra Morena region, where it is prepared from cucumbers, herbs, and green vegetables.
The principle is simple: prepare all the ingredients, throw them in a blender and turn them into a puree. Some Spaniards like to leave lumps: they just don’t grind the puree to the end. Others blend only half of the vegetables and cut the second one into cubes or slices.
Red or green, the most important thing in gazpacho is the spices, which give a cold soup a hot Spanish character.
Ingredients
- 500 g cucumber
- 150 g celery stalk
- 50 g spinach (fresh)
- 4 radish
- 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp lemon juice
- 12 tsp chili pepper flakes
- 3-4 cubes ice
- 3 tsp olive oil
- basil (a few leaves)
- mint (a few leaves)
Instructions
- Peel cucumbers and celery, then cut them into medium pieces. Cut the radish into small cubes.
- Put all the ingredients, including ice, into a food processor or blender bowl and beat at maximum power for 3-5 minutes.
- Pour the soup into bowls. When serving, drizzle with olive oil, if desired, decorate with chopped vegetables.
