Best Chilled Beet Gazpacho Recipes

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
• After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

SUMMER BORSCHT

Steps:

• Place the beets in a large pot of boiling salted water and cook uncovered until the beets are tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Remove the beets to a bowl with a slotted spoon and set aside to cool. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine sieve and also set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups of the beet cooking liquid, the chicken stock, sour cream, yogurt, sugar, lemon juice, vinegar, 1 tablespoon salt, and the pepper. Peel the cooled beets with a small paring knife or rub the skins off with your hands. Cut the beets in small to medium dice. Add the beets, cucumber, scallions, and dill to the soup. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Season, to taste, and serve cold with a dollop of sour cream and an extra sprig of fresh dill.

BEET AND TOMATO GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Put the onion slices in a bowl, cover with cold water and add a few drops of vinegar. Let sit for 5 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients. Drain and rinse with cold water. Cut in half or into smaller pieces.
• Working in two batches, blend all of the ingredients except the garnishes in a blender for 2 minutes or longer, until smooth and frothy. Transfer to a bowl or container (a metal bowl is the most efficient for chilling), thin out with more water if desired, and chill for at least 2 hours before eating. Garnish each bowl or glass with diced cucumber and slivered fresh mint leaves.

BEST GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• 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.
• Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

PICKLED BEET GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Peel and seed the cucumber. Finely dice one-fourth of the cucumber and reserve for serving. Roughly chop the remaining cucumber and transfer to a blender.
• Add the pickled beets with their brine to the blender along with the tomatoes, shallots, garlic, ice water and a pinch each of salt and pepper. Puree until the gazpacho is very smooth. With the blender running, gradually add the olive oil until emulsified. Season the gazpacho with salt and pepper.
• Shred the egg on the large holes of a box grater or coarse grater. Pour the gazpacho into bowls, top with the shredded egg, finely diced cucumber and dill sprigs and serve.