Ingredients for Red Gazpacho
- 2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and roughly cut into chunks
- 6 shishito peppers, seeds removed
- 1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, peeled and roughly cut into chunks
- 2/3 cup small white onion, peeled and roughly cut into chunks
- ½ cup crustless bread, cubed (day old is best)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 Tbsp. sherry vinegar, more to taste
- Salt
- ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste, plus more for drizzling
- Croutons for garnish
Ingredients for White Gazpacho
- 1 ½ cups of crustless stale bread, broken into pieces
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1 cup slivered blanched almonds (must be blanched, the skins are bitter)
- 2 ½ cups green seedless grapes, sliced in half
- 4 cups cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
- 2 cloves chopped garlic
- 1 Tbsp sherry vinegar or cider vinegar, divided
- 1/4 cup olive oil
- Chives and diced cucumber for garnish
Directions for Red Gazpacho
1. Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, bread and garlic in a blender. If necessary, work in batches. Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes
2. With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.
3. Transfer to a glass bowl and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
4. Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and croutons.
Directions for White Gazpacho
1. Heat the stock until it just begins to steam. Remove from the heat and add the broken up pieces of stale bread. Let cool.
2. Put the almonds, salt and garlic in a food processor and pulse until the almonds are pulverized. Add the soaked bread and any stock that was not absorbed by the bread into the food processor, then add the grapes and cucumbers. Pulse until the mixture is a rough purée.
3. Add 1 tablespoons of the vinegar and pulse a few seconds to combine. Taste and add the other tablespoon if it needs it – grapes can sometimes be acidic enough to leave out the final tablespoon of vinegar.
4. With the motor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Turn off the motor and taste the gazpacho. Add more salt if needed.
5. Chill before serving, garnish with chopped chives and diced cucumbers