Gazpacho Salsa
- Total Time: 8 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
Description
This is a base for a very standard, Americanized gazpacho that’s been popular since the 70s.
Ingredients
- 4 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
- 1 purple onion
- 3 smallish cucumbers, seeded
- 2 red bell peppers, seeded
- 1 or 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded if desired (more seeds = more heat)
- 3 to 6 cloves garlic, according to how garlicky you want it
- 5 tbsp (75 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
- 5 tbsp (75 ml) white wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
- salt and pepper to taste
- minced fresh cilantro (optional)
Instructions
- Cut the tomatoes, onion, cucumbers, bell peppers, and jalapeno into chunks, roughly 1 1/1″ square.
- In a food processor fitted with the steel blade, pulse the cucumbers and garlic together several times, until chopped finely. Remove to a large bowl.
- Pulse the onion, bell pepper, and jalapeno together finely, then remove to the bowl.
- Pulse the tomatoes until chopped and juicy, then remove to the bowl.
- Add olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper, and optional cilantro to the vegetables. Taste, adjust seasonings, and let sit in refrigerator for several hours to develop the flavors.
Notes
- I like to group the vegetables according to their hardness when I process them, to avoid mixed textures.
- For instance, if soft tomatoes are processed along with hard onion, you might end up with tomato soup and big onion chunks that still haven’t broken down instead of a more consistently textured chop.
- But if you want a smoothly pureed salsa, you can certainly process the vegetables in any combination.
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Category: Condiment
- Cuisine: Spanish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 160
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does the recipe pulse each vegetable separately in the food processor?
The notes explain that processing vegetables of different hardnesses together leads to uneven texture — soft tomatoes can turn to soup while hard onion chunks remain underdone. By grouping them by hardness (cucumbers and garlic first, then onion and peppers, then tomatoes last), you get a more uniformly chopped result throughout.
How hot does the jalapeño make this salsa?
The recipe calls for 1 or 2 jalapeños and notes that more seeds equals more heat. Seeding the jalapeños before processing will give a milder result; leaving the seeds in increases the spice level.
How long should this salsa chill before serving?
The instructions say to refrigerate for several hours to allow the flavors to develop after adding the 5 tbsp olive oil and 5 tbsp white wine vinegar. The total time listed is over 8 hours, so making it the night before is ideal. 
