Cold soup? Trust us, this is one that you have to taste to understand, especially on a particularly hot summer day. There are a lot of fresh vegetables and bright flavors to keep you coming back for another bite. Wait, there’s creamy burrata and crispy prosciutto too?
Gazpacho or Gaspacho, also known as Andalusian gazpacho, is a cold soup made of raw, blended vegetables, a touch of vinegar, and extra virgin olive oil. It originated in the southern regions of the Iberian peninsula before spreading into other areas.
Gazpacho is commonly eaten in Spain and Portugal, particularly during hot summers, since it is refreshing and cool. With a string of hot summers here in New England and SoCal (pretty much everywhere), this sounds like a great cure for summer sweats.
Classic Spanish gazpacho is made from in-season tomatoes, red peppers, cucumbers, sherry vinegar, sometimes stale bread, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, and seasonings. It’s supposed to be light, refreshing, and a great way to use those summer tomatoes. There are a few other varieties of non-traditional gazpacho including yellow gazpacho, watermelon gazpacho, and of course, green gazpacho.
In this non-traditional version, we use our handy Forge To Table 8” Gyuto to roughly chop the vegetables before placing them into a blender or food processor. To achieve this bright green color, we use chopped heirloom yellow tomatoes, cucumber, poblano, jalapeño, and celery as the base. The peppers bring a welcomed spiciness that tricks the taste buds since the soup is served cold.
For extra aroma and a bright taste, we employ scallions, cilantro, crushed garlic clove, and peppery arugula. To finish it, acidic sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper are used to season it. Some added vegetable stock helps everything get to that proper gazpacho texture.
Some people prefer their gazpacho super smooth, so feel free to strain the gazpacho through a sieve after blending to get a super silky texture. This will reduce the total amount of gazpacho, however.
Chill the gazpacho for at least two hours to let everything marry together and achieve its cool temperature. The longer it sits the deeper the flavors become!
Meanwhile, make the savory and salty crispy prosciutto by draping the slices over a tin foil-lined baking sheet and baking at 350F degrees for 8-10 minutes, or until crispy. Once the prosciutto cools, it will have a concentrated flavor, become crumbly, and make a perfect topping for the gazpacho.
That's not to forget one of our favorite additions to this recipe, Italian burrata. Burrata is an Italian cow milk cheese made from mozzarella and cream. The outer casing is solid mozzarella cheese, while the inside contains mozzarella curds and cream, giving it a creamy and soft texture. The buttery cream flavor is an exceptional addition to the peppery and bright green gazpacho if you don’t eat it in one bite!
When it’s time to serve, ladle the green gazpacho into bowls before topping with half a piece of burrata (or a whole one, just make sure you have extra for everyone else!), some of the crispy prosciutto, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, and some
extra cracked black pepper.
It might not be the traditional gazpacho most people know, but it’s definitely one that we would be happy to serve this summer! Dig in and cool down.
Green Gazpacho with Burrata & Crispy Prosciutto
Peppery and zesty, this chilled soup is layered with flavor using a variety of fresh garden vegetables. Crispy prosciutto and creamy burrata balance out the greenery for an incredible appetizer or light dinner. It comes together quickly but you will be rewarded if you wait to dig in!
Recipe and Photography by Sam Burgess
Forge To Table Knives
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 4-6
Ingredients:
6 ounces yellow tomato, roughly chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, deseeded, and roughly chopped
1 medium poblano pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
1 each jalapeño pepper, deseeded and roughly chopped
2 sticks celery, chopped
4 each scallions, chopped
½ cup cilantro, chopped
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
1 cup baby arugula or spinach, packed
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more, for garnish
2 teaspoons kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper, plus more, for garnish
2 cups vegetable stock
4 slices prosciutto
2 each burrata, sliced in half
Directions:
BLEND. In the bowl of a power blender or food processor, add chopped tomato, peeled and deseeded cucumber, chopped poblano, chopped jalapeño, chopped celery, chopped scallions, chopped cilantro, crushed garlic clove, arugula, sherry vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper. Pulse and blend until everything is smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary, about 3-4 minutes. If there’s room, add the vegetable stock and blend for an additional minute until everything is combined.
CHILL. Place the gazpacho in a large bowl or medium soup pot. Mix in the vegetable stock if it wasn’t added to the blender. Chill in the fridge for at least two hours to achieve its peak taste and cool temperature.
CRISP PROSCIUTTO. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a baking tray with foil and drape the prosciutto slices over. Bake until crisp, about 8-10 minutes, let cool, and tear into bite-sized pieces.
SERVE. Carefully pour the chilled gazpacho into 4 (or 6) bowls. Place half a piece of burrata into each bowl. Sprinkle the crispy prosciutto and a drizzle of more extra virgin olive oil. Enjoy!
Chef’s Notes:
If you don’t have enough room in your blender or food processor for the vegetable stock, simply pour the blended vegetables into a large bowl or soup pot and mix in the stock.
Some people prefer their gazpacho super smooth, so feel free to strain the gazpacho through a sieve after blending to get a super silky texture. This will reduce the total amount of gazpacho.
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