Gluten-Free Gazpacho And Crispy Chickpeas Recipe

Gazpacho is a type of cold soup that originally comes from Spain. While some cooks play fast and loose with the term to the point where you may find so-called gazpachos that are made from fruit and can even be served as dessert, a traditional gazpacho is made with bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes. Such is the case with this gazpacho recipe from recipe developer Deniz Vergara, although it is not thickened with bread crumbs like most versions of the soup. Instead, liquid from chickpeas helps thicken and emulsify the soup. She tells us that this "replaces the need to [use] stale bread, making this recipe gluten-free."

Not only the liquid but the chickpeas themselves play a large part in this recipe. Some of the peas find their way into the soup itself, where they also help to thicken it up a bit. Most of them, though, are seasoned and roasted to make for a nice crunchy topping.

The soup itself in this recipe is made, as we mentioned, with the traditional blend of bell peppers, cucumbers, and tomatoes, along with a shallot, red wine vinegar, black pepper, salt, chickpeas with their liquid, and olive oil. You're also going to need paprika and cumin to season the roasted chickpeas. The optional ingredients are olives and feta cheese to sprinkle on top of the soup.

Purée the pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, shallot, vinegar, black pepper, 1 ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup chickpeas, and ⅓ cup chickpea liquid in a blender or food processor, scraping down the sides as necessary. Once you have a smooth mixture, slowly pour in 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of the olive oil, but leave the blender running as you do so. Put the gazpacho in the refrigerator for at least an hour or up to 8 hours — "Ideally overnight," says Vergara, as this longer amount of time allows the flavor to develop.

Set the oven to 350 F. Toss the remaining chickpeas (about 1 cup) with the rest of the oil and salt as well as the cumin and paprika. Once the oven has preheated, bake the chickpeas for 20 minutes, then let them cool.

When you want to eat the gazpacho, take it out of the refrigerator and top it with chickpeas. Add the olives and feta crumbles if you are using them. You can also drizzle it with some extra olive oil.

Any gazpacho that you do not eat right away can be refrigerated for up to a week or even frozen if necessary. In the latter case, Vergara notes, "You may have to use an immersion blender, blender, or food processor to emulsify it again as it can separate." You should also store the unused chickpeas separately. If you'll be eating just one bowl of soup the first day you make it, only use ⅓ of the roasted chickpeas, then refrigerate the leftovers in an airtight container to keep them crispy for your next bowl of gazpacho.