RCP: Gazpacho

This is so addictive. I wait until this time of year to make it, so I can get the garden fresh produce and fresh dill.

Gazpacho

1 qt. Clamato Juice
1/2 cup peeled cucumber, cut in chunks
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 T. EVOO
2 T, red wine vinegar
1 T. sugar
1 T. dill
1 - 3 fresh garlic cloves, diced
1 avocado, chunked
1/2 tsp. Tabasco Sauce
1/4 - 1/2 pound small shrimp
Salt and pepper
Place in bowl and chill overnight
Add one cup good tomato juice
Options: chopped jalapeño, celery, red bell, lime juice

My Notes: I used Tabasco Chipotle Sauce, added fresh lime juice.

Where is the bread? After all, that's what "gazpacho" means.

Since I am not from a community in Spain, Andalusia, as an example...this is my version, or rather my neighbor's version. I got the recipe from her years ago. She is not from Spain, either. I really don't care for bread in soup. When I make this, we usually have baguette slices, broiled with olive oil and various spices, and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Or I might make quesadillas. Does that count?

Where is the bread? After all, that's what "gazpacho" means.

I could not find anything that says Gazpacho means bread. Everything I looked under says it means a cold soup with raw vegetables. One reference said "residue" or "fragments", referring to the small bits of chopped veggies. Perhaps you have another reference stating a type of bread?

I found this online somewhere:

Gazpacho, meaning “soaked bread” in Arabic, was invented in Andalucia, a southern province of Spain, during the Moorish occupation between 700-1500AD

Evidently it is complicated and unclear.

http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002837.php

I found this online somewhere:

Gazpacho, meaning “soaked bread” in Arabic, was invented in Andalucia, a southern province of Spain, during the Moorish occupation between 700-1500AD

Evidently it is complicated and unclear.

http://www.languagehat.com/archives/002837.php

So it seems, so I won't care about it and just enjoy eating the gazpacho.

Karen,

Totally off the subject, but we made a version of your apple & avocado salad last night. Spectacular as always and a great hit with everyone. I call it "Karen's Salad" and I suspect you have some new "groupies".

Karen,

Totally off the subject, but we made a version of your apple & avocado salad last night. Spectacular as always and a great hit with everyone. I call it "Karen's Salad" and I suspect you have some new "groupies".

Me? Groupies? Goodness! I'm happy that you enjoyed the salad.

[Jenise]

Since I am not from a community in Spain, Andalusia, as an example...this is my version, or rather my neighbor's version. I got the recipe from her years ago. She is not from Spain, either. I really don't care for bread in soup. When I make this, we usually have baguette slices, broiled with olive oil and various spices, and a sprinkle of Parmesan. Or I might make quesadillas. Does that count?

Karen, I've had many a gazpacho that had no bread in it, however, I have to say that the way the bread (brushed with olive oil, then pan-toasted and whizzed in a blender with the vegetables/juices) flavors and thickens the soup is to my tastes better than without. It lends both body and complexity. If you haven't done it that way, you should give it a try just to experience the difference.

Just a hint I learned years ago.... I never add EVOO until it is to be served. This gives the soup better flavor and better appearance.
Really good EVOO refrigerated is not a pretty sight.

Just a hint I learned years ago.... I never add EVOO until it is to be served. This gives the soup better flavor and better appearance.
Really good EVOO refrigerated is not a pretty sight.

The little bit of EVOO in the recipe is not an issue as far as congealing. Never happens.

Where is the bread? After all, that's what "gazpacho" means.

I could not find anything that says Gazpacho means bread. Everything I looked under says it means a cold soup with raw vegetables. One reference said "residue" or "fragments", referring to the small bits of chopped veggies. Perhaps you have another reference stating a type of bread?

Karen,

Whether or not Gazpacho means bread (It doesn't) or not, stale pan (which does mean bread) is a n integral part of the cold soup. While it might be good, and I have no doubt that it is, but it ain't "Gazpacho" without bread.

Bob, my Gazpacho recipe does not call for bread, and if it did I would serve it on the side. I'm not a stickler for authenticity...if I were, I have a feeling that cooking would become more of a chore as far as buying the necessary ingredients to make the recipe right or wrong...depending on how you look at it. I just wanted to share a recipe with everyone that we love, is healthy and timely for the season. It is comments like yours, and that others have made about a recipe being right or wrong, that makes a person afraid to post.

[Jenise]

It is comments like yours, and that others have made about a recipe being right or wrong, that makes a person afraid to post.

It does--pedantism can truly be annoying and you do well to remind people of that. Wouldn't it be a boring world if we didn't use didn't use opportunities to be creative? I doubt if anyone has told Daniel Boulud that he can't call his hamburger 'hamburger' because it's not 100% raw ground beef. Tradition, like home, is the place we go back to. But we don't have to live there.

Bob, my Gazpacho recipe does not call for bread, and if it did I would serve it on the side. I'm not a stickler for authenticity...if I were, I have a feeling that cooking would become more of a chore as far as buying the necessary ingredients to make the recipe right or wrong...depending on how you look at it. I just wanted to share a recipe with everyone that we love, is healthy and timely for the season. It is comments like yours, and that others have made about a recipe being right or wrong, that makes a person afraid to post.

Karen, I am sorry that I made my reply seem to you as if I were picking a quarrel or somehow sniping at you or your recipe. In Fact, I merely was saying that in my experience with gazpacho, bread is included in the soup. I surely did not mean my comments to seem pedantic in any way.

I liked what I saw in your recipe well enough to copy it and file it in my food folder on my computer, and I will make it for my consumption, and I will enjoy it as well. I lived in Spain (Seville) for some years, many many years ago, and first became acquainted with gazpacho there. It is a wonderful hot weather cold soup to be enjoyed all summer so long as the fresh vegetables are fresh and plentiful. Again, I apologize for upsetting you, for I didn't mean to.

I disagree, I think a little "pedantry" makes a discussion twice as interesting.

I loved reading about the origin of the word "gazpacho" and I don't care beans whether anyone uses bread in their gazpacho or not.

People shouldn't be so sensitive, it's not criticism, it's just scholarship.

Martin Barz puts bread in his gazpacho. Didn't he formerly post here? Maybe we weren't pedantic enough for him...

[Jenise]

I disagree, I think a little "pedantry" makes a discussion twice as interesting.

I loved reading about the origin of the word "gazpacho" and I don't care beans whether anyone uses bread in their gazpacho or not.

I don't disagree with you at all, but delivery can make a difference. People post recipes (and tasting notes) in the spirit of sharing, and it can be discouraging to end up feeling like you made a target of yourself instead. I can understand why to Karen Bob H's last comment felt like that (Bob, good on you for apologizing!).

Btw, you got my PM? Are you giving autographs yet?

I got your PM and had a nice chat with the lady from California. I hope they mention WineLovers DG.

Bob, my Gazpacho recipe does not call for bread, and if it did I would serve it on the side. I'm not a stickler for authenticity...if I were, I have a feeling that cooking would become more of a chore as far as buying the necessary ingredients to make the recipe right or wrong...depending on how you look at it. I just wanted to share a recipe with everyone that we love, is healthy and timely for the season. It is comments like yours, and that others have made about a recipe being right or wrong, that makes a person afraid to post.

Karen,

Quite frankly I do not know about the bread thing, but I do know that the recipes you have posted, that I have tried, have been rock solid successes. That is all that counts in my book.

On the old FLDG I posted an Asian recipe that my family and cooking club loved that was from Cooking Light magazine. Within hours of that post, two people that posted on average once per year pounced on me and complained that the dish was not really Thai, but Vietnamese and this thing meant that and in classic Vietnamese cuisine they use this and not that, etc. I responded by stating that I never claimed it was authentic but was just posting a recipe that was great and if they had an issue they should take it up with the editors of Cooking Light. I never heard from those two goofs again.

Please don't be afraid to keep on posting your recipes. Those of us who have tried them in the past are not going to simply dismiss them because they may or may not be "authentic".

Bob, my Gazpacho recipe does not call for bread, and if it did I would serve it on the side. I'm not a stickler for authenticity...if I were, I have a feeling that cooking would become more of a chore as far as buying the necessary ingredients to make the recipe right or wrong...depending on how you look at it. I just wanted to share a recipe with everyone that we love, is healthy and timely for the season. It is comments like yours, and that others have made about a recipe being right or wrong, that makes a person afraid to post.

Karen,

Quite frankly I do not know about the bread thing, but I do know that the recipes you have posted, that I have tried, have been rock solid successes. That is all that counts in my book.

On the old FLDG I posted an Asian recipe that my family and cooking club loved that was from Cooking Light magazine. Within hours of that post, two people that posted on average once per year pounced on me and complained that the dish was not really Thai, but Vietnamese and this thing meant that and in classic Vietnamese cuisine they use this and not that, etc. I responded by stating that I never claimed it was authentic but was just posting a recipe that was great and if they had an issue they should take it up with the editors of Cooking Light. I never heard from those two goofs again.

Please don't be afraid to keep on posting your recipes. Those of us who have tried them in the past are not going to simply dismiss them because they may or may not be "authentic".

Thanks for your comments Dave. As I was reading your post, it brought to light funny things that have happened at another site. I've been visiting there for years and have posted a huge amount of recipes, as have others. It is a shock when someone comes back and tells you, "your recipe was the best ------I have had. Oh, I did a few tweaks, instead of Jasmine Rice, I used potatoes, and substituted, wine for the lemon juice, and added capers, left out the garlic, used parsley instead of cilantro, and added chopped tomatoes. It was so good, thanks for sharing." It cracks me up, and while I have nothing against someone doing this, I find it interesting that the person would come back and tell you how good your recipe was, because with all the changes it most certainly is no longer the recipe you shared. So, I am just thankful for their creativity in making it suit their needs and getting a good laugh for the day.