It can get really hot here in summer. Therefore, cold soups are extremely popular. They refresh and are easy to digest on a hot summer day. Spanish also just have an occasional glass of Gazpacho just in between to keep the minerals in balance. They taste great and keep your body running on full energy! Below you find my personal favourite recipe for Gazpacho as well as two more recipes for really yummy cold soups. All recipes are for 6 persons.
Gazpacho
… the mineral balance soup, that quenches your thirst
preparation time: 10 minutes cooling time: min. 4 hours
Ingredients
- 1 kg. ripe Roma-tomatoes
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 50 gr. green peppers
- 40 gr. onions
- 70 gr. cucumber
- 20 gr. vinegar (delicious with tomato vinegar of an Austrian company called Gölles)
- 1 level teaspoonful of salt
- 70 gr. olive oil (the good one, cold-pressed)
- 8 ice cubes
- If necessary 200gr.ice-cold water
- A handful of finely chopped, mixed vegetables
- A handful of croutons (preferably self-baked)
The how to …
Put all vegetables in coarse pieces into the blender and blend as fine as possible. Add vinegar and salt and mix again. While stirring, add the olive oil and blend it together with the ice cubes. If the soup is too thick, you can add some ice-cold water. Put it in the refrigerator and let it cool for several hours.
Tip
You can serve the Gazpacho as a starter and put some finely chopped vegetables and a couple of croutons on top of it. On special occasions, I love to serve a grilled scampi-skewer together with the soup.
Salmorejo
… the more nutritious, that satisfies your hunger
Ingredients
- 1 kg. ripe Roma-tomatoes
- 1 clove of garlic
- 20 gr. of vinegar (delicious with tomato vinegar of Gölles)
- 1 level teaspoonful of salt
- 200 gr. finely ground breadcrumbs
- 90 gr. olive oil (the good one, cold-pressed)
- 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped into small pieces
- 100 gr Iberian ham cut into fine strips
The how to …
Put the tomatoes, the garlic, the salt and the vinegar in the blender. Add the breadcrumbs and mix it. While stirring, add the olive oil. The soup should be viscous and must cool in the refrigerator for several hours. As a starter, you serve this soup with the finely chopped eggs, on top of it some finely cut stripes of ham – ready!
Tip
This soup is suitable for in between meals – it refreshes and fills your stomach! You can call it a healthy snack 🙂
Ajo Blanco
… the fine-dining soup, with that special tweak
Ingredients
- 200 gr. peeled almonds
- 1 level teaspoonful of salt
- 2 cloves of garlic
- 100gr. finely ground breadcrumbs
- 70gr. olive oil
- 20gr. white wine vinegar
- 1 litre ice-cold water
- A handful of halved, white grapes
The how to …
Put the peeled almonds with salt and garlic in the blender and grind as fine as possible. Add the breadcrumbs and mix again until you have a kind of lumpy dough. While stirring, slowly add the olive oil. Switch off the blender! Add the white wine vinegar and the ice-cold water to the dough and “shake” it for 1 minute at the highest setting. Within the few first seconds, the liquid should become clear white. Put the soup in the refrigerator and let it cool for several hours.Tip
I always prepare the soup in the morning for the evening and stir it a little before I serve it. In the evening I put a couple of halved, white grapes in each plate and pour the soup on it … I hope you enjoy preparing the Gazpacho as well as the other two lovely soups – lay the table nicely, grab a bottle of good Spanish wine, and then
