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Wandering through Iberian lands

Gaspacho à alentejana

09/05/2020 7:37 PM

For us, "gazpacho" has always meant a delicious Andalusian cold soup made of tomatoes, garlic and olive oil. In 2018 I got a job in Portugal and for one entire summer season I worked guiding tours around the country. Every day we slept in a different city but we always finished and started in Beja. It is a small town in the middle of nowhere - it is surrounded only by fields, cork oaks and thousands of olive trees. Beja is located in Alentejo, an agricultural region that covers almost 1/3 of the entire country. It was there that we found out for the first time that Portuguese gazpacho is a completely different dish than the Spanish one we had known so far. Gaspacho à alentejana is based on the most important ingredients in the Mediterranean diet - olive oil, vinegar, bread, oregano, garlic and tomatoes. We will never forget August in Alentejo – it was boiling hot! 50 degrees C everyday so it's not surprising that the inhabitants of this region love soup with ice cold water or even ice cubes!

Today we want to share with you the recipe for gaspacho à alentejana, and soon we will tell you about the Andalusian version, which is the „classic” one. During those four years we have been living in Spain we've come across different versions of this worldwide known dish. Would you like to learn how to make watermelon or strawberry gazpacho? Or green? Or white? Stay tuned and don't forget to follow us, we promise to share with you a whole bunch of recipes.

  • Gaspacho à alentejana
  • olive oil
  • vinegar - we used our favorite dark vinegar from Huelva
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • oregano
  • salt
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 1 green pepper
  • 1/2 cucumber
  • 1/2 red onion - it can also be white or you can skip it completely, onion is not a mandatory ingredient
  • Rustic Bread (preferably from a day or two ago)
  • cold water / ice cubes

Dice the vegetables, add olive oil, vinegar and spices. I used the garlic press but if you don't have one just smash it with other spices in a mortar. Add water, as much as you want – I used ½ liter but in some recipes they use 1 liter. Depends on how you want it. In my opinion it's good to put the bowl for at least one hour into the fridge before serving. You can then add the ice cubes if you feel like it. Gaspacho à alentejana is eaten with bread. Some serve gaspacho with bread on the bottom of the dish with the soup poured over (that's what we did) but I have also seen people soaking the bread in the soup or putting the pieces on top of the dish.

Generally, I met a whole bunch of different versions of the same dish. Usually there is no onion but we both love onions and besides, we has a half in the fridge and we had to use it. If you like, you can add chopped fresh coriander or parsley on top. Once in Portugal I was served this gaspacho with beloved by the Portuguese cod and some other time with black olives - you can always adjust it to your own needs and preferences. Bon Appetit!