gazpacho

Gazpacho

Gazpacho garnished with parsley
Origin
Place of origin	Spain/Portugal
Region or state	Andalusia/Alentejo/Algarve
Details
Course	Appetizer
Serving temperature	Cold
Main ingredient(s)	Tomato, water, garlic
Variations	Salmorejo
Approximate calories per serving	variable

The Gazpachos Manchegos originated in La Mancha, before today's typical gazpacho, according to data from the 12th century.^[1]

Gazpacho is a tomato-based, raw vegetable soup traditionally served cold, originating in the southern region of Andalucía. Gazpacho is widely consumed in the Spanish cuisine, as well as in neighboring Portugal, where it is known as gaspacho. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities and cold serving temperature.

History

Gazpacho has ancient roots. There are a number of theories of its origin, including as an Arab soup of bread, olive oil, water and garlic that arrived in Spain and Portugal with the Moors, or via the Romans with the addition of vinegar.^[2] Once in Spain it became a part of Andalusian cuisine, particularly Córdoba and Seville, using stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar, similar to ajoblanco.^[3]

There are many modern variations of gazpacho, often in different colors and omitting the tomatoes and bread in favor of avocados, cucumbers, parsley, watermelon, grapes, meat stock, seafood, and other ingredients. ^[4]

Ingredients and preparation

In Andalucía, most gazpacho recipes typically include stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar, and salt.

The following is a typical method of preparing gazpacho:

1. The vegetables are washed and the tomatoes, garlic and onions are peeled.
2. All the vegetables and herbs are chopped and put into a large container (alternately, the tomatoes may be puréed in a blender or food processor, pounded with a mortar (the traditional way of making it) or strained and de-seeded with a food mill)^[4]
3. The soaked bread is then added (optionally)
4. Some of the contents of the container are then blended until liquid, depending on the desired consistency.
5. Chilled water, olive oil, vinegar and salt are then added to taste.
6. The remaining contents of the container are added to the liquid, then briefly puréed until there is some texture remaining for garnish. (optional)
7. Garnishes may be made with fresh bell pepper slices, diced tomatoes and cucumber, or other fresh ingredients.

Traditionally, gazpacho is made by pounding the vegetables using a mortar and pestle. This method is still sometimes favoured as it helps keep the gazpacho cool and avoids the completely smooth consistency, and foam, created by blenders and food processors.^[4]

Gazpacho with diced ingredients

In addition to the blended vegetable ingredients, it is also usually accompanied by different garnishes. These include the same vegetables the soup already contains, chopped up, as well as croutons.^[5] The garnishes are served separately so the consumers can add them to the soup themselves. When making the salmorejo variety from Cordoba, chopped hard boiled egg and ham (e.g. jamón serrano, jamón ibérico, etc.) will be placed on top. In Extremadura, gazpacho with local ham is called gazpacho extremeño. This time, the ham tends to be added to the soup in the kitchen prior to serving (unlike the other garnishes which are added at the table).

Gazpacho may also be served with ice cubes if it has not had enough time to chill before serving.

Variations

Gazpacho recipes can vary greatly in terms of ingredient composition, texture and viscosity. This usually depends on the geographical location as well as family traditions.

Similar cold raw soups such as salmorejo, porra antequerana and ajoblanco, are also popular in Andalusia, although not as widespread as gazpacho.

A completely different dish to traditional gazpacho is gazpacho manchego. As the name implies, it seems to have originated from the Spanish region of La Mancha, but it is also popular in other areas in the center and southwest of the country. Rather than a cold soup, it is a meat stew. The main ingredients are rabbit and flat bread, and may also include mushrooms.

In Spain

In the historical description of gazpacho it was remarked that the original recipe uses bread, water, vinegar, oil and salt. This recipe is very old in the Iberian Peninsula going back to Roman times. Every Andalusian region or comarca has its own variety of this popular food so there are many types of gazpacho. Gazpacho, since its humble origin, was a very deeply-rooted food for peasants and shepherds in the south of Spain. This origin gave rise to a wide variety of dishes called gazpacho and to some others that don't have this name but belong to the same category. Some authors have tried to classify all these variations. The classification by colour implies that there is a difference between the red ones (which contain tomato), the white ones (which contain no tomato, but include dried fruits) and the green ones (which are white but cointain some spices that make them green). The red one is the most prevalent one. The only thing all these variations have in common is the original gazpacho, in other words, the basic paste made of garlic and bread, the olive oil, which works as an emulsifier, the vinegar and salt. Keeping the traditional ingredients some kind of red-coloured fruits such as fragarias, muskmelon, etc., are also frequently added. These ingredients make the resulting gazpacho a bit sweeter than the traditional one. Despite this gazpacho is served as a main dish and sometimes as tapas.

Arranque Roteño

A popular variation comes from the town of Rota in the province of Cadiz. During the times of drought there wasn't enough water to make gazpacho. Arranque has the same ingredients as gazpacho only that it requires less water and bread, making arranque into a gazpacho cream. Some people add enough bread until it has the consistency of a dip.

Extremaduran variations

In Extremadura, gazpachos are a kind of purée or thick gazpacho known as cojondongo, or cojondongo del gañán,^[6] made of breadcrumbs, garlics, oil, vinegar and on the top of that chopped onions, tomato and peppers.^[7]

La Mancha variations

Geographical distribution of gazpachos manchegos is limited to the east region of La Mancha, in Albacete and nearby areas. Gazpacho is cooked in a cauldron and is usually prepared warm, as a stew. Game (generally rabbit) is often added, and sometimes chicken meat, garlic, tomatoes, and flatbread. In La Mancha, specifically in the Montes Universales, gaspachos are made with small game and flatbread “crumbled” on the pan where the meat is stewed. Another well-known variant in La Mancha is gazpachos de pastor or galianos.

Variants from Castilla

The weather being extreme, with very cold winters and very dry and hot summers, has resulted in widespread preparation and consumption of gazpacho in Castilla y León. Specifically, it is worthy to emphasize the variety from La Moraña, a town in the province of Ávila. This particular gazpacho is made of the same ingredients as the other versions. Its particular feature is the large pieces of vegetables floating in the soup, basically water coloured by pepper and vinegar.^[8]

See also

• Vichyssoise
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, in which gazpacho is a major plot point.
• Me², an episode of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, in which gazpacho also features significantly.

References

Wikibooks Cookbook has a recipe/module on Gazpacho

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Gazpacho