One of the hazards of being a food writer is that you get texts like the one I got last week from a friend in Kansas: “Need yr white gazpacho recipe STAT.”
Well, alrighty then. Give me a minute to drop what I’m doing, and I’ll rummage through the recipes I’ve created over four decades to find the one you’re asking for.
Then I’ll check it over to make sure I still like that version, and I’ll text it to you straight away.
I sound tart about this, but my tongue is firmly in cheek when I complain. Of course, I’m flattered and pleased that someone remembers a dish I served them long ago. This “white gazpacho” is actually a classic Spanish bread soup, and it’s really refreshing on a hot day.
Anything with cucumber as an ingredient, especially when chilled, tastes terrific when the temperatures climb. Since we’re on the cusp of that season here in Tucson, I thought you might wish to tuck this simple soup away for easy reference. You can use regular cucumbers, English or Persian cucumbers for this soup — just peel them and seed them.
This soup couldn’t be easier to prepare — you add some stuff to the blender, whiz and refrigerate. That also suits my cooking style when it starts to get hot outside.
Some recipes I’ve seen direct you to use stale bread cubes, then rehydrate the bread by soaking it in the water before blending. That makes sense if you’re starting with stale bread. But I’m usually not, so I skip the soaking step.
You do want to start with good bread here, though. A rustic boule or a good baguette would work, but Wonder Bread or the like, although technically white bread, don’t have the right structure .
I have a little trouble finding sherry vinegar, so I typically make this with freshly squeezed lemon juice. It’s not a lot, but the acidity brightens the soup’s flavor and brings it up to point. Sherry vinegar is used in the classic Spanish version, but I like to use what I have on hand.
Blend this in whatever blender you have handy. If your blender is basic, you’ll want to push the soup through a sieve to remove anything that didn’t blend smoothly. I happen to have a heavy-duty blender, so I don’t need to sieve the soup.
Another change I’ve made since I moved to the Southwest is to garnish the soup with pepitas, rather than with the slivered almonds that the Spanish use. While you can certainly serve this without the simple garnish, it looks pretty and adds some textural interest.
Whether you want to invest the time to peel the grapes before halving them is up to you. I’m so lazy that I never peel them but doing so takes this soup up a step and makes it something truly elegant.
WHITE GAZPACHO
Makes about six servings
You want this soup to be silky smooth. If you use a food processor or a blender that’s low-powered, sieve the soup after blending to remove any crunchy bits. If your blender is very strong, such as a Vitamix, you won’t need to sieve it.
INGREDIENTS
8 ounces blanched almonds
3 ounces rustic white bread, crusts removed, cubed (this will be about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice, sherry vinegar or white wine vinegar
2½ cups water
For the garnish:
Salted pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
20 to 25 seedless green grapes, halved
Extra-virgin olive oil, for dressing
PREPARATION
Toast the almonds in a dry skillet over medium heat, stirring constantly, until they’re fragrant and just beginning to brown, one to two minutes. Remove from heat and set aside to cool.
Combine the cooled almonds, cubed bread, garlic, cucumber, 2 tablespoons olive oil, lemon juice or vinegar and water in a blender or food processor. Whiz until the mixture is smooth, about 1 minute. Season with a pinch of salt, and taste to see whether it wants more lemon juice or vinegar. Transfer to a container and refrigerate, covered, for at least four hours or until completely chilled.
To serve, combine the pepitas and the halved grapes. Portion the soup into bowls, and top each serving with some of the almonds and grapes, then dress each with a drizzle of olive oil.
