I’ve had a love affair with Gazpacho since I saw the movie “Violets are Blue” with Kevin Kline and Sissy Spacek in 1986. Please tell me you’ve seen it.
Okay, Kevin Kline (positively gorgeous in 1986) plays Henry, a small town newspaper owner in a coastal Maryland town. He would have married Gussie Sawyer, played by Sissy Spacek (his high school sweetheart), had her ambition not taken her across the world on assignment as a war photographer with Life Magazine. Or maybe it was Time; I can’t remember. Anyway, the two had a totally hot romance and her career got in the way—bottom line. Henry remained in his hometown and began working at the newspaper his father owned, then he knocked up the much less worldly Bonnie Bedelia, married her, and settled down. They had a sweet son and built a happy life together.
Fifteen years later, Sissy Spacek (Gussie) shows up for the first time since she left. Kevin Kline (Henry) doesn’t know she’s back in town for a visit until he realizes he’s competing against her in a sailboat race; once he realizes it’s her, he falls into the ocean in shock. The next morning, while jogging about town, Gussie stops in to say a very awkward and tense “how the hell are ya?” and Henry invites her to his home for dinner the following night with the family.
Henry/Kevin goes home. The next morning over breakfast he announces, nonchalantly, “I ran into Gussie Sawyer yesterday.”
“Your old girlfriend?” Bonnie asks, looking up from the French toast she’s frying on the griddle. (I noticed the food, even in 1986.)
“Yep. I invited her over for dinner tonight,” he continues.
“Oh, Honey,” she says sweetly. “You didn’t.”
“I was just trying to be nice,” Henry smiles. “She hasn’t been home in over fifteen years…”
That night Gussie shows up. Everyone’s nice, but tension is in the air. Then Bonnie Bedelia serves up dinner: Gazpacho and crusty French bread.
“It’s cold,” their darling teenage son says.
“It’s supposed to be,” Bonnie answers, smiling a sweet maternal smile.
“Cold SOUP?” her son asks. Teenage boy stuff.
That Gazpacho looked so, so good.
After dinner it starts to storm and Gussie announces she’s walking home because she likes the rain. Bonnie Bedelia insists that Henry walk Gussie home, and being the wholesome, caring gentleman that he is, he obliges.
Then Gussie and Henry wind up sleeping together under a pier on their way home and the movie pretty much falls apart from there.
But at least it introduced me to Gazpacho, which Bonnie describes as “basically, salad in a blender.” Gazpacho is a raw, cold soup—it shouldn’t be considered a cooked tomato soup that’s served cold. No way! Gazpacho is fresh, textured, light, and such a delicious summer treat. I love it more every time I eat it. It just feels good.
And by the way, WHAT was my mother thinking letting me watch movies like that? Marlboro Man calls 'em "Cheatin' movies." For some reason, I’m always watching them. I always assure Marlboro Man that I don’t mean nothin’ by it. It’s all about the acting for me.
Anyway, Gazpacho. Here’s how I make it:
Start with veggies! Fresh, fresh veggies. The fresher the better.
Tomato, cucumber, zucchini…
Garlic, red onion, celery…and some garnish ingredients like avocado, cilantro, etc.
I really like this stuff. It’s the store brand and it’s not very acidic.
Or you can use V8! Whatever your poison is.
First, mince 2 cloves of garlic pretty finely.
Next, peel a red onion, cut it in half…
And dice it up pretty finely. I try to keep all the dicing pretty small. Personal preference.
Next, slice a cucumber down the middle lengthwise.
And dice it up, too.
I find it easiest to cut these long vegetables into matchsticks, then cut them in the other direction to dice.
Use this method to dice up a zucchini, too. Okay? Okay.
Next come several ripe tomatoes. I used about five.
Finally, dice up a couple of stalks of celery—I like to get some leaves in there. Yum.
So basically, here’s what we’re going to do. We’re gonna blend up the garlic with half the tomato juice and half the vegetables—and some other ingredients, too. Then, later, we’ll stir in some of the remaining vegetables so you have a nice mix of smooth and chunky. That’s the way I like it.
So: ALL the garlic and HALF the red onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery.
Look—I really tapped into the bounty!
Next, pour in 2 cups tomato juice…
1/4 cup olive oil. Use extra virgin here, por favor.
Next, add in some vinegar. I used about 1/8 cup of red wine vinegar. I have a pretty low tolerance for the sting and bite of vinegar, so you can use a little more if you’d like—and use whatever vinegar you have handy, all the way down to the white distilled stuff.
To counteract both the vinegar and any acidity in the tomato juice, I always add in sugar. I really go for it and add 2 tablespoons, and it’s never, ever too much for me. But add a little less if you’d like, then work your way up if it needs it.
Next, add a few dashes of Tabasco. More if you like things spicy.
Next comes a dash of salt…and it’s time to mix it up!
Here’s before.
Here’s after.
Yummy! You’ll notice that we’re not going for a totally pulverized, smooth mixture; it’ll have a nice texture and pretty flecks of color throughout. I love the green flecks from the cucumber and zucchini. Healthy!
Now pour it into a large bowl.
Add the rest (2 cups) of the tomato juice.
And half of the remaining vegetables—in other words, 1/4 of the total amount of vegetables. I can do math! I can do math!
I think.
Give it a taste, then add a little more salt if it needs it. Then cover the bowl and chill the soup for at least a couple of hours. Not only do you want the gazpacho to be very cold, you also want the flavors to have a chance to meld together.
Take the remaining vegetables and put them in a bowl. Cover it and chill.
The vegetables. Not you.
When the soup is chilled and you’re getting close to serving time, get some cilantro ready (I just strip the leaves from the stems) and cut an avocado in half.
With a spoon, remove the good stuff from each half. Try to keep it in one piece.
Cut the avocado into thin slices.
And grill some slices of crusty bread. Drizzle a little olive oil over each piece.
Or a lot, if you’re me.
Be glad you’re not me. Okay?
And finally—and this is totally optional, but deliciously optional nonetheless—grill or saute some large, yummy shrimp.
Remove the soup from the fridge and do one final check of the seasonings.
Now serve it up! I use a nice large, flat bowl since I’m getting ready to put a really embarrassing amount of garnishes and adornments all over the surface.
Mmmm. Just look at this delicious, fresh delight!
Yummy! Now, you could go ahead and dig right into this and have yourself a nice, light dinner or lunch with that piece of bread you’re grilling.
But that’s never enough for me.
Fetch those remaining chopped veggies you’ve been chilling in the fridge and throw a spoonful over each serving.
Add a nice dollop of sour cream. It is really, really a treat so if you could find it in your heart not to leave it out, I’d be most obliged.
Next comes a little cilantro—not too, too much.
Then comes a few slices of avocado. Another yummy addition. Don’t miss it.
And don’t forget the bread. I LOVE grilled slices of crusty bread with Gazpacho. I don’t know why. I get really cranky when I have to eat Gazpacho without grilled bread. Seriously. I throw things.
Talk about cranky. I was a few bites into it when I realized I’d forgotten the grilled shrimp. How careless of me!
I won’t ever, ever do that again. Promise.
Make this soon, my sweet friends. Give Gazpacho a chance. In the hot summertime, it’s an absolute treat—particularly for company. It can be made several hours ahead of time, and aside from the chopping of the veggies, it’s an exceedingly low-effort meal.
Enjoy!
