National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month: Making Gazpacho

Written By Kelly Timmons

National Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Month: How to Make Gazpacho

In honor of National Fresh Fruit And Vegetable Month, we want to share a recipe that is perfect for the summer (no ovens or cooking involved!) and focuses on fresh vegetable ingredients. We’re talking about gazpacho!

Gazpacho is a popular soup from the Andalusian area , (an autonomous community of Spain), mostly known now for being served cold, has many different influences from Greece and Rome, but also from the Moor’s and Arab culture.

The original soup was blended stale bread, olive oil and garlic, with some liquid like water or vinegar that was pounded together in a mortar. Different vegetables and almonds that were available were also added.

This soup evolved into different varieties, the most popular around the world is a tomato based variety, served cold.

To learn more about the history of Gazpacho, check out the Kitchen Project at this link: https://kitchenproject.com/history/Gazpacho/index.htm

 What’s in Gazpacho?

The ingredients for gazpacho can easily be found at any farmer’s market or grocery store with access to fresh vegetables and takes 45 minutes to prep, and then an additional two hours to “sit” before being ready to eat.

List of Ingredients:

  • Vine-ripened tomatoes

  • Tomato juice

  • Cucumber

  • Red bell pepper

  • Onion

  • Jalapeño

  • Garlic clove

  • Extra virgin olive oil

  • Lime

  • Balsamic vinegar

  • Worcestershire sauce

  • Cumin

  • Kosher salt

  • Black pepper

  • Fresh basil leaves

Rachel’s Cooking Tip: Even if you only have the fresh vegetable ingredients and nothing else, this cold soup still tastes delicious! If you like vegetables, it’s hard to go wrong!

How Much Time Does it Take to Make?

Gazpacho takes 45 minutes of prep time and then 2 hours of letting the cold soup sit until it’s at it’s best flavor-wise for eating!

Check out this link from The Food Network for the full recipe and a video about making gazpacho: https://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/gazpacho-recipe-1937573

We hope you make your own in honor of this month!

Kelly Timmons
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