We love soup at our place, but the summer is kicking in with hot and humid weather and, honestly, soup does not sound appetizing. That is when we like gazpacho, a refreshing cold soup. To give her gazpacho a nutritional boost, Kristi has fermented it. Keep reading to learn how.
Gazpacho is a wonderful soup, that is traditionally served cold. The intense flavors of tomatoes, celery, bell peppers, onions, combined with a dash of Tabasco, will dance on your tongue. Fermented gazpacho is pretty simple to make and only requires a couple of extra steps and about a day’s time. We don’t ferment all of the ingredients. Only some of the vegetables get fermented. The other ingredients will be added in later.
How to Make Fermented Gazpacho
Equipment:
• Food processor
• ½ gallon mason jar
• A Fermentools starter kit, or other fermentation vessel
• Wooden spoon for stirring and tasting. (Using metal can negatively affect the ferment.)
Fermented ingredients:
• 4 large tomatoes
• 4 celery sticks
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 cloves of garlic
• Handful of parsley
• 1 bunch of chives
• 3 tbsp Himalayan salt
Non-Fermented Ingredients:
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/4-1/2 cup red wine vinegar, according to taste
• 4-5 tsp Worcestershire sauce, according to taste
• Pepper to taste
• 1 cucumber, not fermented!
• 1 tsp of Tabasco or fermented hot sauce
Directions:
1. Remove stems, seeds, papery skins and leaves from the tomatoes, celery, garlic, bell pepper, parsley, chives, and onion.
2. Cut them up so they will fit into the food processor.
3. Place an even amount of each item in the food processor, and process all until they are very small bits.
4. Pour into half gallon mason jar.
5. Add the salt and stir well.
6. Secure Fermentools onto jar.
7. Ferment for 24 to 48 hours, in a place away from sunlight and a temperature around 65ºF to 75ºF.
8. Refrigerate for a few hours to chill.
Finishing:
1. Add olive oil, Worcestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, lemon juice, cucumber and pepper.
2. Stir well, refrigerate more if needed.
3. Garnish with parsley and chives. Or you can ferment red onions, and whole cherry tomatoes, and garnish with them like I did!
This soup should be served chilled. Refrigerate leftovers.
Place the soup in a bowl and add some leftover parsley or chives for garnish. I also like to garnish with fermented red onions and whole cherry tomatoes. The red and purple from the onion and the tomatoes bring out those wonderful tones that are already in the soup. Half the cherry tomatoes, and place them aside the soup. Fan three large slices of red onion, and place them on top. Adding a bit of parsley to top it all off.
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Ready to try this refreshing soup but lack the necessary supplies? Try browsing the Fermentools store for all you need.
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Kristi is the blog owner of HomesteadWishing.com She is a wife and mother of three wonderful boys. She loves to write about food, children & parenting, tips and tricks, and survival information.