Sometimes, cooking is about taking chances and trying something completely different.
Text And Photo By Joan Nova
What if? What I love about cooking is the “what ifs“.
What if I substituted this ingredient for that one? What if I served it in an unexpected way? What if…? 
That’s what makes it fun for me each and every time I flip on the kitchen light.
Recently I planned a Spanish tapas dinner party for “new” friends and, being a good hostess, I asked if they had any food allergies or major dislikes. Yes, no cucumbers. Now that was a ‘what if’ situation because I generally use cucumber when I make gazpacho. But, that’s how I came up with fennel gazpacho.
What if…you can’t use cucumber and wanted to make gazpacho?
Try fennel.
What if…you were serving multiple dishes for one course and wanted them eaten at the same time?
Downsize…how about a shooter size serving in an expresso cup?
Fennel Gazpacho
- Total Time: 15 minutes
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
Description
This Fennel Gazpacho offers a unique twist on the classic cold soup, replacing cucumber with fennel for a refreshing and aromatic flavor.
Ingredients
- 1 pint grape tomatoes
- 1/2 fennel bulb roughly chopped (reserve fronds for decoration)
- l red pepper (chopped)
- 1/4 cup (60 ml) sweet onion (chopped)
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 lime (juiced)
- 2 pieces bread
- dry seasonings to taste salt, pepper, cumin, fennel seeds
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) (or more for thinner consistency) water
Instructions
- In a blender, combine the grape tomatoes, chopped fennel bulb, red pepper, sweet onion, garlic, and lime juice. Blend the ingredients in batches if necessary.
- Once all ingredients are blended, combine them and blend again until you reach the desired consistency.
- Season with salt and black pepper to taste, adjusting as necessary.
- Refrigerate the gazpacho for at least 2 hours to allow the flavors to meld together.
- Before serving, garnish with reserved fennel fronds.
- Serve cold, ideally in shooter-sized servings using espresso cups for a tapas-style presentation.
Notes
- For a creative presentation, serve the gazpacho in espresso cups as a shooter-sized appetizer.
- If you don’t have sweet onion, you can substitute with a milder onion variety.
- This gazpacho can be made a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator, which will enhance the flavors.
- Adjust the seasoning after chilling, as flavors can mellow in the cold.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 0 minutes
- Category: Appetizer
- Cuisine: Spanish
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 80
- Sugar: 5
- Sodium: 150
- Fat: 1
- Carbohydrates: 15
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 2
- Cholesterol: 0
The fennel add a unique and welcome flavor and reserving the fronds for decoration brought it all together.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Why does this gazpacho use fennel instead of the traditional cucumber?
The article explains the swap directly: the author was planning a tapas dinner for guests who couldn’t eat cucumber, so she replaced it with 1/2 fennel bulb — the result, she says, added “a unique and welcome flavor” she now considers an improvement.
What are the fennel fronds used for?
The recipe says to reserve the fronds from the 1/2 fennel bulb for decoration — they’re used as a garnish before serving, and the article notes that using them for this purpose “brought it all together.”
How should this gazpacho be served?
The author suggests serving it in espresso cups as shooter-sized portions for a tapas presentation — she developed this specifically so multiple dishes could be eaten simultaneously. The gazpacho also needs at least 2 hours of refrigeration before serving for the flavours to meld.
Great job Joan!
Great post!