This is the best gazpacho recipe for an authentic Andalusian style gazpacho from Southern Spain called gazpacho Andaluz. Made in minutes, this easy gazpacho recipe results in a vibrant orange gazpacho that tastes like a fresh garden salad in the form of a cold summer soup. Refreshing, light and healthy, this chilled summer soup tastes even better the next day.
Whether it’s gazpacho Andaluz or gazpacho de mango, there are few better things to slurp to cool you down on a sweltering summer’s day than a bowl of the cold Spanish soup called gazpacho. Or few better things to drink, because in Spain gazpacho is often kept chilled in a jug in the fridge and poured into a glass from which it’s sipped like a smoothie.
Hailing from the hot dry Andalusian region of Southern Spain, gazpacho Andaluz or Andalusian style gazpacho is essentially a liquid salad – a fresh garden salad of ripe tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum (bell peppers), garlic, salt, sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, a little cumin, and stale bread that’s blended into a cold summer soup.
It’s the kind of gazpacho served in cities such as Seville, Granada, Córdoba, and Málaga and is essentially a no-cook meal in a glass – or bowl. Thirst-quenching, healthy, light yet filling. No wonder the Spanish live off the stuff in summer. So do we – and we’ve long done so, since well before my first trip to Spain in the mid-1990s as a film student.
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Now let me tell you about this delicious gazpacho recipe for an authentic Andalusian style gazpacho from Southern Spain, the birthplace of gazpacho.
Best Gazpacho Recipe for an Authentic Andalusian Style Gazpacho from Southern Spain
Terence likes to tell the story how many years ago in Australia, before our first trip overseas – which was actually to Mexico and not Spain; that would come later – I beat our Spanish teacher in a blind gazpacho-making competition on the last night of our Spanish language course.
Although I knew my gazpacho was incredibly delicious, I honestly didn’t think I’d win. How could I beat a Spanish teacher who was born in Spain?! Those were the days before the internet – before we could Google recipes and have them appear before our eyes in seconds.
My recipe was based on the gazpacho that we used to order at our favourite Spanish tapas bars in Sydney’s ‘Little Spain’ quarter which we used to frequent every week or two. We didn’t even own a Spanish cookbook at the time and I made my gazpacho purely from taste.
What I didn’t realise at the time – and wouldn’t realise for another five years until after my first trip to Spain – was that the chilled vegetable soup that I made in that gazpacho cook-off with my Spanish teacher was the Southern Spanish style of gazpacho from Andalucía.
Our Spanish teacher, Juan, who was from Galicia, made gazpacho Gallego, a Northern-style gazpacho that was a rich red colour and tomato-driven – without the cucumber that makes Southern-style gazpacho orange. In Galicia it’s eaten cold in summer but in winter gazpacho is eaten warm. I told Juan I liked his better, but to be honest I prefer this style.
As Terence and I would learn after our first trip together to Spain in 1999 and during multiple trips over the years, there are not only regional styles of gazpacho, but, as with so many recipes, every cook has their own gazpacho recipe. But most riff off the classic Andalusian style gazpacho from Southern Spain.
Just a few tips to making this Andalusian style gazpacho from Southern Spain.
Tips to Making our Best Gazpacho Recipe
The best Spanish gazpacho recipes are often the most traditional gazpacho recipes as far as I’m concerned and our gazpacho Andaluz recipe from Spain’s Andalucía region is no exception.
Don’t get me wrong, I love to get creative as much as the next person, however, there are some recipes that simply don’t need tweaking. This classic gazpacho recipe is one of those.
I’ve spotted a dizzying array of ingredients added to traditional gazpacho recipes that really didn’t need adjusting in the first place. Why mess with a centuries-old gazpacho recipe that has stood the test of time?
Making this Andalusian style gazpacho recipe couldn’t be simpler. All you need to do is soak a couple of stale pieces of bread in water, squeeze out the water, and pop those in the blender.
Sprinkle some salt on the chopped tomatoes and cucumber first to bring out the flavour, and chop the other ingredients. Throw it all in the blender with the salt, pepper, extra virgin olive oil and a little ground cumin, and blend until smooth.
Taste, adjust the seasoning to suit your palate if needed, and blend again. If you prefer a silkier, smoother texture, you could strain it. Either way, in less than ten minutes, including prepping the ingredients, your gazpacho is done. It couldn’t be easier.
However, you do want your gazpacho chilled, so transfer it to a jug and refrigerate it for at least 30 minutes so it’s nice and cold, or even longer if you can. Just stir before serving.
An Andalusian style gazpacho can be served in a glass or bowl. We like to drizzle our gazpacho with extra virgin olive oil and garnish with finely chopped vegetables and croutons, but simple also works, especially on a scorching summer’s day.
Best Gazpacho Recipe for Gazpacho Andaluz from Southern Spain
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 slices 50 g stale white bread
- water
- 500 g ripe tomatoes - chopped
- 1 small cucumber - chopped
- pinch of salt
- 1 small red/green capsicum - chopped
- 1 small red onion - chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 4 tbsp Spanish extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp sea salt to taste
- 1 tsp black pepper to taste
Garnish
- finely diced cucumber - red capsicum, tomatoes, sprigs of fresh coriander, and a a swirl each of extra virgin olive oil and sherry vinegar.
Instructions
- Soak a couple of slices of stale white bread in water, squeeze out the water and pop it in a blender or food processor.
- Roughly chop the tomatoes and cucumbers, set aside, and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.
- Roughly chop the red/green capsicum, red onion, and garlic cloves, drop those in the blender or food processor.
- Add the tomatoes and cucumbers, sherry vinegar, Spanish extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper and blend for a minute.
- Taste, and add more salt or pepper to your taste, then blend for 2-3 minutes until smooth. This makes a gazpacho with a dense consistency best served in a bowl; if you prefer a lighter gazpacho to drink out of a class, add water and blend again for another minute.
- Optional: strain if you prefer a smoother silkier soup, or leave as is if you like to taste the texture of the vegetables as we do.
- Chill for an absolute minimum of 30 minutes, but 2-3 hours is even better. The gazpacho will taste even better the next day; if it’s split, just blend it again before serving.
- Ladle the gazpacho out into individual bowls if you’ve opted for a denser texture and garnish, otherwise pour into glasses (garnish optional) and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Please do let us know if you make our best gazpacho recipe for gazpacho Andaluz in the comments below, as we’d love to know how it turns out for you.
I just made this and it is just how I remember the gazpacho we had in Seville! Took us way back! I did see quite a few recipes with very odd additions, this was perfect.
Very nice to have this for lunch on a summer’s day with a glass of vino.
Thanks!
So pleased to hear this, Annabelle. Thank you for dropping by and taking the time to leave a comment!
Lara, wanted to let you know we loved both your cold soups, this and the green veggie. Blended refrigerated food is all I can handle in this heatwave. I see you have a Russian one too. Never had Russian food in my life but will give that a shot. Love the colour. Hubby now happy with my veggie soups as long as he can drop bacon and egg on top. He reckons bacon and egg on a beetroot soup will be like a hamburger LOL so lets see. Thank you, Lara.
Hi Wanda, so glad you enjoyed the cold soup recipes and thank you so much for taking the time to call in and leave a comment! Do try to stay cool down there!