Gazpacho this, gazpacho that

Do you remember the “We Can Pickle That!” sketch from “Portlandia”? The upshot: They can pickle anything! It starts with the obvious cucumber then progresses to eggs and dead birds, a band-aid, a stiletto broken off a shoe, crushed-up plastic CD cases, a parking ticket. I’ll also remind you: If you’re looking for a “Portlandia” sketch to embed in your newsletter, be prepared to lose an hour or two in the “Portlandia” rabbit hole before remembering that you were writing your newsletter. Focus, Joe, focus!

The thing is, I’m not even writing about pickles. I’m writing about gazpacho. Not because it can be pickled — wait, can it? — but because I’ve tasted or made gazpacho so many ways I’ve started to wonder: In true pickle form, is there anything I can’t gazpacho?

Not having grown up in Spain, I first experienced gazpacho in its perhaps most ubiquitous form: tomato. That version is so much more than just cold tomato soup, though. Great tomato gazpacho also has a bite from raw garlic, a wonderful tang from sherry vinegar, richness from olive oil, and body that it gets from stale bread, among other typical ingredients such as cucumber and bell pepper. The term itself derives from the Arabic for “soaked bread,” and the traditional method calls for pounding the mixture in a mortar and pestle.

Some purists find anything that colors outside that recipe to be inauthentic, but as I wrote in my farewell column for The Washington Post, I consider an insistence on authenticity to be the enemy of joy — or at least deliciousness. To me, it’s better to understand and respect a dish and its origins as you tweak it than to hold to a rigid set of rules and eat the same thing over and over again.

You’d be surprised what even Spaniards do with gazpacho, anyhow. I was working at the Boston Globe when chefs Amanda Lydon and Gabriel Frasca introduced me to ajo blanco, a traditional Spanish cold soup often described as white gazpacho that uses many of the same ingredients and techniques but employs almonds rather than tomatoes. It’s an even older recipe than the more famous red version, and the almonds give it a fantastically creamy texture, not to mention an elegant pale color that beautifully sets off such garnishes as grapes and chive blossoms. (The latter are purple, the color of my favorite cauliflower, as some of my dedicated readers know.)

The dish, originally from Andalusia, has strong Arab connections, as Sami Tamimi (whom I interviewed for last week’s newsletter) writes in “Boustany,” his new book: “During the Moorish rule of Spain, Arab influences introduced key ingredients like tomatoes, peppers and olive oil to Spanish cuisine. Chilled soups, common in Arab cuisine, were appreciated in hot climates, probably inspiring the introduction of gazpacho to Spain. The soup highlights the enduring impact of Arab culture on Mediterranean gastronomy — a delicious example of cultural fusion, showcasing the historical and culinary exchange between Spain and the Arab world.”

Modern versions — even in Spain! — might use watermelon or other fruit in addition to or instead of tomato. And if you think from a cook’s perspective, especially one who likes to operate seasonally, it’s not hard to see why. When you’ve got ingredients in front of you and it’s too hot to cook, why wouldn’t you combine them raw in a blender (apologies, but I don’t have time to pound it by hand) and add your favorite flavors to taste?

Yet that doesn’t mean that any savory combination of vegetables and/or fruit can blend up into gazpacho. A V8 is not gazpacho! A kale smoothie is not gazpacho! I do think you need something starchy like bread to give the gazpacho body, to turn it into more than a juice cocktail, and you need lots of olive oil (see my tips below) for a luxurious texture. Also garlic and vinegar (preferably sherry vinegar for its delicate tang IMHO, but others will work). And bell pepper, cucumber and maybe jalapeño for some grassiness and heat. Beyond that? Go to town.

Last summer I made one of my favorite gazpachos ever after I came back from the market toting a bounty of sweet cherries. What a gorgeous magenta color, and what an amazing flavor from those cherries. I skipped the bread because the cherry flesh gave the soup a great texture without it, and I didn’t want to dilute the flavor. This year, I saw a recipe for a corn and yellow tomato gazpacho in Nava Atlas’s book “Vegan Soups and Stews For All Seasons,” and wanted to simplify it by leaving the corn raw. (This is for those of you who prefer your fresh, local summer sweet corn barely cooked — if at all.)

No matter what recipe you use, knowing some tips can help you make it the best it can be. Here are some of my favorites:

• If you’re using tomatoes or other fruit, make sure they’re as ripe and juicy (i.e., full of flavor) as possible. If you want to make gazpacho when there’s no great fresh fruit available, make ajo blanco!

• Don’t be stingy with the olive oil. Some traditional recipes call for as much as ¾ cup in a batch! My cherry and corn versions use ½ cup and ¼ cup, respectively. You need a good dose for that silky, rich texture. This is not fat-free food.

• Eat it within a day of making it, if possible. It won’t go bad after 2 or 3 days in the fridge, but it won’t taste as fresh as it could — and you want it to taste fresh! There’s a reason that in Spain, gazpacho is considered a salad.

• Cold temperatures mute flavors, so when you’re seasoning before you chill it, keep that in mind and err on the heavy-handed side.

• One way to shorten the time between blender and table is to add a little ice to the mix. No need to refrigerate!

• Don’t skimp on the garnish. It’s a scientific fact that eaters find more satisfaction from non-monotonous textures, so the garnish for this — and any puréed soup, really — can take the gazpacho from tasty to out of this world. I generally like to just reserve some of most if not all the solid ingredients that go in the blender, and to thinly slice or dice them.

• If you make a particularly non-traditional gazpacho (like I did with cherry and then corn and my colleague Aaron Hutcherson recently did with cantaloupe), be glad you aren’t writing for a mainstream publication with a comments section. (Sigh.)

I break for animals:
Otter time

Recipe: Ajo Blanco (White Gazpacho)

When we think of chilled soups, tomato gazpacho usually comes to mind. It’s certainly a summertime star, but one of my pantry-friendly favorites year-round is ajo blanco. This rich Spanish soup is made with day-old bread, almonds, garlic, and olive oil. You'll be surprised at how creamy the consistency becomes from simply blending almonds with water and bread.

It’s cold and refreshing, with a kick from the garlic and a splash of sherry vinegar for acidity. Finish it off with a drizzle of olive oil and colorful garnishes.

4 to 6 servings
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

• 2 cups (470 ml) ice-cold water, plus more as needed

• 1 cup (140 g) blanched almonds (see Note)

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 1 (6-ounce/170 g) piece day-old baguette, torn into 1-inch (2.5 cm) pieces (about 3 cups)

• ¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil, plus more for drizzling

• 1½ tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste

• Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 1 cup (145 g) cherry tomatoes or grapes, halved, for garnish

• Chopped chives and/or chive blossoms (optional), for garnish

In a high-powered blender or food processor, combine the cold water, almonds, garlic, bread, olive oil, and sherry vinegar. Blend on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Add more water if needed and season with salt, pepper, and more sherry vinegar to taste.

To serve, top each bowl with tomatoes and a drizzle of olive oil. If desired, garnish with chopped chives.

Note: To blanch raw almonds, boil them in water for 1 minute, then transfer to an ice water bath. This will loosen the skins, making them easy to peel off.

Recipe from “Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking” (Ten Speed Press, 2024). Copyright Joe Yonan.

More favorite gazpacho recipes

These are gift links to the recipes at the Post. Note that they require you to register but not subscribe. Gift links are free to access for 2 weeks, so if you want to save any of these recipes but don’t subscribe or want to subscribe, I suggest you save them!

Corn Gazpacho

Cherry Gazpacho

Almond Gazpacho With Cherries and Flowers (Ajo Blanco)

Everybody Eats: The taco bar!

Making dinner for a group of eaters with varying preferences and restrictions is no picnic. (Trust me: I try to do it almost every day.) So regularly in this space, I’m offering thoughts on a setup I’ve done that works well. This time: The taco bar. It’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? Set out tortillas (crispy and/or soft corn, particularly if you have gluten-free eaters, or flour if you don’t) and the fillings, and let everybody assemble their own. I like to include the following, but you should include whatever you and your crew likes to eat in tacos!

• Black beans or pinto beans, whole or refried

• Ground chicken or turkey, pan-fried and seasoned

• Pickled onions or red cabbage

• Pickled jalapenos

• Vegan cheese (such as Violife feta)

• Dairy cheese (such as queso fresco)

• Avocado

• A salsa or two (for store-bought, I like Frontera brand)