Seasonal eating, always popular in France (and more and more, in the states) is even stronger in the countryside, where the fruits fall from trees in backyard orchards and everyone’s potager is groaning with veggies. We stuff ourselves with cherries in the spring, we gather wild asparagus. We feast on the luscious Cavaillon melons in June, and pluck peaches from our trees. And now, in mid-summer, we are awash in zingy red tomatoes, glossy cucumbers, and all the fruits of the vegetable patch. Must be time to make gazpacho!
Now there many ways to make gazpacho. You can keep it simple, or you can thicken it with bread crumbs or enrich it with cream. There are also two major camps: the chunky crowd and the smooth group. I was always in the chunky camp and turned up my nose at the puréed stuff. That is, until I met Alix. Her recipe is now my one and only recette for gazpacho.
Loyal Readers, you may remember Alix, a fellow southern girl, from my post of May 31: we shot Alix and Paul’s lovely house in Provence for the Country French Bookazine (which should be out soon, I’ll let you know!). Alix got this recipe from a friend in Spain, and she made it for us on a warm spring day. It immediately entered into the food memory hall of fame for everyone à table. It’s also quite easy and a crowd pleaser, for a party.
I had a gazpacho recently at a French restaurant, and they served it with tiny bowls of goodies for garnishing. This idea works well with Alix’s recipe, and adds a little fun. So when I serve the soup, I do it family style and pass a plate of small bowls filled with chopped avocado, sliced limes, creme fraiche, chopped red onion, and chopped basil. Everyone gets to garnish their own.
This gazpacho really should be taken on a hot summer day on a shady terrace under the wisteria, with good friends, much laughter, and a crisp white Burgundy. Bon appetit, Y’all!
RECIPE: Alix’s Gazpacho
Alix’s recipe, which originated with her friend Beth in Spain, has a secret ingredient which is unusual: a raw egg. She says a chef once told her to add it, to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. If raw eggs are a concern, just skip it.
“Put 1/2 cup olive oil and 3 tablespoons vinegar in a bender. Add vegetables a few at a time:
- 4-5 Tomatoes in chunks ( not skinned or seeded)
- ½ of a medium cucumber, peeled
- 1 red bell pepper (ribbed and seeded)
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 onion, peeled
- 2 tsp. salt
- pepper to taste
- 1 raw egg at the end / some basil to taste
“Blend well (you may need to do it in batches). When smooth, add the egg if using and blend again, briefly.
"Then you MUST put the mixture through a moulin, or Food Mill
Chill until nice and cold and serve. Garnish as desired with any/all of these: avocado, chives, basil, chopped red onion, lime slices, creme fraîche or sour cream. Mille mercis, Alix!
In the COMMENTS: We have lots of readers who love to photograph French windows. And really, who can resist them? Sue wonders why bugs don't come in without screens (good question–there aren't many bugs here, but the flies do wander in). But Cindy has an unusual solution! We also talked about French music last time and Chef Katherine, who has two French bakeries in Colorado, suggests setting up an Edith Piaf station on Pandora and streaming it. Sounds like a bakery we need to visit!
Favorite Reads: Be sure to catch Mel's comment from the last post. He's discovered Secret France: Charming Villages and Country Tours. There is also a French version. Published by the Automobile Association of Great Britain, it has driving tours of France and reflections on French life.
14 thoughts on “Summer Soul Food: A Gazpacho from Spain, by Way of Provence”
Lynn, I’ve made this a few times now and here’s some added thoughts: The onion should not be too large. Medium at most…. smaller than a baseball. If you use too large an onion it can take over the soup. Also of course use only the best summer tomatoes. I tried it once with just normal tomatoes, and there’s a huge difference (surprise!). Extra garlic is fine if you wish (duh!). And once I added a few radishes to the blender, because they were sitting in the fridge.. good. A little blast of cayenne if you would like some heat. And I use a good size standard type strainer and a whisk…. just whirl the whisk around the inside of the strainer and before you know it all that’s left is the stuff you don’t want in the soup (do it in batches). This soup is definitely worth making. And a nice dry rosé is lovely with it too.
Thanks for the link to the Colorado bakery. It was my dessert for tonight, especially after discovering my usually loose skirt is very tight at the waist.
With this heat I think I will try a new GAzpacho recipe every day…. this should be a really delicious one! Stay cool – maybe the rose suggestion will be of help in that effort.
Jacques Pepin gave me a great tip about onions. If one smells pretty “ripe” when you peel it, slice it pull the pieces apart then rinse them in a bowl of cold water. Swish them around and pull them out leaving the acid in the water. Works every time.
Thank you for reminding me how much I LOVE gazpacho (I’m part of the smooth crowd!). I need to make this stat since I haven’t yet this year.
How perfect for le Canicule! Sigh. I truly, with all of my heart, hope that it is not as hot up there in Burgundy as it is here in Provence.
I love, love, love the idea of goodies on the side–who doesn’t like to doctor up their food so it is made to order?–and that this is probably the easiest gazpacho recipe that I have ever seen…
Our gorgeous Arles market is in the morning. Can you guess what I will be buying? 😉
Bon weekend!
Well,Lynn, you captured my imagination with those Cavaillon melons
(YUM!) and now, with this terrific Gazpacho recipe,we are set for a weekend of feasting! Especially because it’s been so hot and muggy,
this is just the perfect light dinner.(accompanied with some Pouilly-Fuisse,bien sur)
Oh,my. Life is good.
Looking forward to next Friday’s post. They just keep getting better and better!
THANK YOU!!!
very good. you can also use a colander or a salad spinner if you don’t have a sieve.
easy summer soupz;
2 large cucumbers peeled and chopped and de-seeded
1/2 med avacado, peeled, chopped
1small onion chopped
1 cup sour cream 1/2 cup buttermilk
lemon verbena, salt and pepper
throw into blender, puree
put in fridge for several hours or overnight.
Hi, Lynn. My favorite (blender) Gazpacho recipe is James Michner’s (from his epic novel, IBERIA). He finishes it off with a lot of olive oil (as an emusifier, probably what the raw egg does for your recipe), and several TBs of vinegar. I can’t understand why anyone would want to “cut” the wonderful tart taste of tomatoes – that’s what they’re all about! Otherwise, his ingredients are about the same as yours. They both sound delicious. The Spanish sometimes drink their gazpacho over a couple of ice cubes, from a glass. PS. I HAVE seen a Spaniard crack a raw egg into a glass of red wine & drink it… very healthy he insisted 🙂 I don’t know about the gag factor, though!
You have here a classic Andalucian gazpacho, minus the bread and oil ( just as well). But consider also using some chopped cucumber and tomato pieces as garnish, the same ingredients from which you made the gazpacho. And, as an olive lover, I add a few bits of chopped Kalamata or other olives. I also like croutons: several slices of bread–crusts removed–cut into cubes and fried in 2 tablespoons of butter at low heat for 20-25 minutes until golden. Press fresh garlic into the butter before frying the bread. Whatever the garnish the “smooth” gazpacho is the best.
Sounds easy enough for a novice cook! Can’t wait to try it!
I love this recipe! I used a big onion but it was a Washington State Walla Walla Sweet which is a sweet summer onion. No egg for me! I am bringing the soup to a party next week. I am taking a pretty pitcher and a tray of tall shot glasses and serving it as one of the appetizers.
Thanks for your blog and the recipe cousin, it’s a keeper.
This soup sounds great. I’m hungry *now* 😉 Just in case you want a small change at some point, you might try my take on “Porra Antequera”… sort of a pureed and served *cold* pappa al pomodoro if you will. You know, I think I never met a tomato soup I *didn’t* like! Mmmmm, thank you!… I look forward to trying this one!
Gazpacho belongs especially to Andalusia, southern Spain. Here day labourers working in vineyards, olive plantations, citrus groves, wheat fields or cork forests were given rations of bread and oil for their meals. Bread soaked in water made a simple soup, to which was added oil, garlic and salt for flavour, plus whatever fresh vegetables were available–tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers in the summer. Everything was pounded together in a mortar or dornillo, a large wooden bowl. Gazpacho provided nourishment, quenched the thirst, and sustained a body working in the hot sun.