Grandma’s Andalusian Gazpacho Recipe

We are going to prepare a delicious Andalusian gazpacho from the grandmother, a traditional summer dish typical of Andalusia, but which is widespread throughout the Spanish geography. Gazpacho is a very popular cold tomato soup during the hot months due to its easy preparation, its exquisite flavor and how cheap it is. The ingredients of Andalusian gazpacho are very basic: tomatoes, onion, garlic, cucumber, pepper, bread, oil, vinegar and salt, all of them cheap and easy to get. But as always happens with all dishes, in each area they have their own way of doing it, so much so that many people prefer to omit the cucumber, bread or onion, for example. Likewise, the texture is totally adaptable to the tastes of each one, since it can be made more or less liquid.

For us to have a good Andalusian gazpacho, it is best to use some good tomatoes, choose them that are ripe but have a good flavor. The rest of the ingredients must still be fresh, with this success is assured.

Ingredients to make Grandma’s Andalusian Gazpacho:

• 1 kilogram of tomatoes
• 1 piece of green pepper
• 1 onion
• 1 cucumber
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 slice of bread
• 1 splash of olive oil
• 1 splash of vinegar
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 liter of cold water

How to make Grandma’s Andalusian Gazpacho:

1. Prepare all the ingredients for the Andalusian gazpacho. Keep the water in the fridge so that it is cool and you can drink your gazpacho as soon as you finish making it. That said, wash all the ingredients and peel the cucumber and the tomatoes, you can also remove the seeds from the latter. Cut the onion and pepper into pieces.
2. Add the previous ingredients in a bowl or in the glass of a kitchen robot, depending on where you are going to crush them.
3. Cut the bread into thin slices and add them to the bowl. The bread can be from the day before, since when moistened it will be crushed perfectly. In fact, the Andalusian gazpacho recipe is one of the most used to take advantage of stale bread.
4. Pour part of the water and start grinding. Remember that you can use a robot or an electric hand mixer. As everything is crushed and you see the consistency, you should add more water to adjust the texture to your liking. Before seasoning it, you can strain it to remove any remaining skin or seeds.
5. When Grandma’s Andalusian gazpacho is to your liking in terms of texture, add the oil, vinegar and salt, blend and taste it to see if you need to add a little more of any of these ingredients. Keep it in the fridge so that it is very fresh at mealtime.
6. Trick: We like to put the dressing when it is crushed because it changes the flavor. It is also better to leave it a little soft, since when a while passes, the flavor of the ingredients is more noticeable.
7. At the time of serving it, you can add “stumps”, as my grandmother used to say. To do this, she chops pieces of cucumber, onion, pepper, bread and puts them on a tray or on plates so that each diner adds these pieces to her liking. And ready! Grandma’s Andalusian gazpacho recipe is prepared to be enjoyed as a cold soup or as a drink during an aperitif.