A Lament- Why I Can’t Get a Decent Gazpacho
Gazpacho is the simplest of soups made of very ripe tomatos, cucumber, onion, garlic, green pepper, olive oil and vinegar (preferably sherry vinegar but red wine vinegar will do). Blend these ingredients to the consistency you like by adding water. In the very classic cookbook, 1080 Recetas de Cocina, Simone Ortega uses too much olive oil but that’s a question of taste.Toppings called tropezones include crutons and chopped vegetables which are served with the soup. Gazpacho is everywhere in Spain, even bus stations in Andalucia serve a tasty gazpacho and every supermarket carries brands made with natural (really) ingredients. Every household has its own variation.
So what goes wrong here in the US? Every gazpacho I’ve tried is like a liquid Mexican salsa, some so spicey as to be almost undrinkable. Spicy is not the flavor profile of a classic gazpacho. If that’s what you enjoy, go for it, but realize this is not the authentic gaspacho.
Why then isn’t it possible to make my own? For one, I’ve never had enough really ripe delicious tomatos to do so. Even tomatos from the farmer’s market lack flavor. Here the tastiest tomatos are cherry or grape and they have been bred for sweetness and aren’t suitable. On a ferry from Venice, I watched a woman pull a tomato from her shopping bag and offer it to her companion, saying “il perfumo.” I have yet to see that happen here.
One of these day I may have a garden plot and I’ll fill it with tomato plants.
