Home-made soups are so good for you - all that nourishing stock
and chock-a-block full of vitamins and minerals.
But ... who on earth could face boiling bones for hours on end
during the scorching Spanish summer weather, not to mention
preparing the soup once the stock is made? I don´t think it
would tickle anybody´s fancy to then have to tuck into a
piping-hot soup!
For this reason, the Spanish came up with their wonderful,
ice-cold soup - gazpacho - beautifully colorful, packed with
goodness, cheap and simple to prepare, no cooking and ... most
important of all, an absolute delight to drink.
Traditional gazpacho originates from romantic Andalucia - that
large, exotic southerly region of Spain which is home to such
extensive Arabic influence.
The chilled, raw soup was originally made by pounding bread and
garlic with tomatoes, cucumber and peppers but, nowadays, your
electric blender renders this effortless! Olive oil endows it
with a smooth, creamy consistency and vinegar adds a refreshing
tang - just what you need when life gets too hot to handle!
The spicy soup should be served in true Spanish style with small
bowls of accompaniments - finely chopped peppers, cucumber,
onion ... even hard-boiled eggs and croutons, if you feel up to
it! Guests will then sprinkle what appeals to them on the soup.
Traditional gazpacho is tomato-based, with most Spanish families
having developed their own, unique recipes. However, nowadays,
you will also find gazpacho recipes that have nothing to do
with tomatoes - white, almond-based gazpachos, fruit-based
gazpachos, etc.
Do you suffer from insomnia? Could be that drinking gazpacho is
the answer, for in Pedro Almodovar´s 1987 film "Mujeres Al Borde
De Un Ataque De Nervios", various characters help themselves to
the soup and promptly fall asleep!
However, don´t fall asleep just yet as you haven´t read over the
recipe!
Ingrediants for 4 servings:
- 4 ripe tomatoes
- 1 onion
- ½ red pepper
- ½ green pepper
- ½ cucumber
- 3 cloves garlic
- 50 g bread
- 3 dessertspoons vinegar
- 8 dessertspoons olive oil
- Water
- Salt/pepper
- ¼ chilli pepper (optional)
Garnishings:
- 2 hard-boiled eggs
- ½ finely chopped onion
- ½ finely chopped red pepper
- ½ finely chopped green pepper
- ½ finely chopped cucumber
Method:
1. Break up bread and soak in water for 30 minutes.
2. Skin tomatoes, remove seeds and stalks from peppers.
3. Peel cucumber, onion and garlic.
4. Chop onion, garlic, tomatoes, peppers and cucumber.
5. Place in electric blender.
6. Squeeze out excess water from bread and add to blender.
7. Add oil and vinegar.
8. Blend well.
9. If necessary, add sufficient water for soup-like consistency.
10. Pour into a bowl with ice cubes.
11. Fridge for a couple of hours.
12. Serve in bowls, with garnishings in separate dishes.
Gazpacho is best enjoyed sitting in the shade, looking out onto
an azure sea, blue sky and golden sun and sands!
Linda Plummer is webmistress of the site:
http://www.top-tour-of-spain.com
which provides a wide range of information regarding Spain and
the Spanish language.
Delivery Mistakes – Cerebral Palsy Many experts believe that delivery mistakes lead to many cases of cerebral palsy. Sometimes, delivery mistakes are strictly because of the mother.
Universal Mind "There is an infinitely worthier subject for philosophers (to study) than all these trees and stones, and even all those stars; there is the mind of ma...
Is A Parrot The Right Pet For You? Ther are a few things to take into consideration when deciding if a parrot is the right pet for you. The last thing you want to do is spend a lot of time and m...
Blog and RSS If you own a blog and do not update its content frequently, you may end up losing your sites rank through search engines. Not only that, you will lose visitors...
Prosper and Be in Health The Promises of God are powerful. If applied to your life, you will not only be motivated and inspired, but truly empowered to triumph over your trials.
Active Inquiry in Organizational Change Dr. Mike Beitler reveals an essential part of the process consulting model, Active Inquiry. He explains how change consultants can use this system to approach c...
Pros & Cons of Investing in Bonds A bond is a debt security, by which you are lending money to a government, municipality, corporation, federal agency or other entity known as the issuer. In ret...
Are You Ready for a 40-year Mortgage? High real estate prices may make the previously obscure 40-year mortgage more common, allowing people to purchase homes they otherwise could not afford.
Detox Your Home Deeply cleanse your living environment by getting rid of harmful, toxic chemicals and replacing them with healthy and environmentally safe household products.
Sideways Market Last year you could have used a dart, thrown it at a stock page in the newspaper and bought that stock. By the end of the year you probably would have had a nic...
10 Tips On How To Lower Cholesterol Seriously high levels of 'bad' cholesterol (LDL) represent a menacing cause of heart disease. By lowering the LDL level in your blood, you will automatically lo...
Killer Piano Playing Secrets of a Chord Addict! When a lightbulb comes on in the mind of an individual who is seeking knowledge in some area, it's amazing how much progress can be made in a short time. For pi...
Plan For Wealth One very important wealth creating habit is to set up a concrete plan that you can actually follow. You see, wealth takes planning, and is usually the result of...
Bingo – Good for the Mind? When we think of bingo, genius and brainpower don't always spring to mind; these attributes have tended to be reserved for poker and other games of skill and lu...
My Top 12 Web Site Marketing Strategies - Part 1 If you don't create a successful strategy for marketing your web site, you can't build a profitable online business. It's therefore imperative to drive thousan...
Smith Wigglesworth on the Power of the Word Smith Wigglesworth had a major healing ministry in the early to mid 1900's. In my opinion, he was one of the greatest eagles to have ever walked this earth. If ...
The Cholesterol Solution Is there an alternative to statin drugs such as Lipitor and Pravachol? If yes, does it have any side effects? Physicians are facing these questions each day how...
How To Make, And Keep, Money Trading Stocks If you are serious about making and keeping money by trading stocks, then there are three things you need to do, and do well. Money management Orders Tradin...
Are You SURE Your A Bad Debt? Many people who seek the advice and guidance of debt counsellors are driven to them in the first place by fear and ignorance - two powerful emotions which often...
Print this page