What's Cooking (Take Four)

Yesterday, when the morning was cool, I made another batch of Gazpacho. This time I added cherry tomatoes, Persian cukes, celery and celery leaves, avocado, shrimp, and Italian parsley

Do you make a chunky style?[/

Absolutely, I'm a chewer.

Mine is also excellent. I like the texture from the bread thickening. While most of the unblended veg are in small dice, I added a pint of cherry tomatoes simply halved. (And I seem to have two extra 'cocktail'-size tomatoes so those may go in in chunks, too.)

Bread in Gazpacho... have you got a recipe to share?

[Jenise]

Not Jeff, but bread in gazpacho is classic Spanish method for thickening the soup, and it improves the flavor greatly IMO. It's typically just adding to the blender a thick slice from a country loaf pan-fried to golden on both sides in a bit of EVOO. Adds great flavor and texture.

I don't go chunky on my gazpacho. I tend to like it smooth because I like the flavor of the blended vegetables, though I wouldn't be against adding a little fine dice of cucumber after.

I have never seen anyone toast the bread before adding it to the soup! What is traditional, I think, and what I did, anyway , is to soak the slice of bread in water, wring it out, then add it to the blender. The rest of the recipe is the same, as you like it -- meaty or wet tomatoes, onion or not, celery or not, spicy or not -- just blend the bread in with all the rest. It adds body and maybe a little 'oven' flavor if you used tasty bread.

[Jenise]

It adds body and maybe a little 'oven' flavor if you used tasty bread.

And if you brown it first in a skillet, then your oven flavor has toasty bread too! Seriously, this was in the first recipe I ever followed by gazpacho, also for a Spanish garlic soup I've made, and I've done it ever since though I don't think I've ever read another recipe--simply because I didn't need one to follow. As you say, it comes down to combining what you have. I think I'll need to make a gazpacho today after all this chatter.

[Jenise]

Just made a pitcher of gazpacho. Added toasted bread, and held back some celery to add to the last buzz but not fully puree it. I misspoke when I said I like mine smooth--I don't care for chunky, is more correct. But I do love texture.