There are, at least according to the glossy Spanish tourism brochure on my desk, thousands of recipes for gazpacho. And it seems quite a few of them are showing up on menus throughout Chicago.
It is gazpacho season: The weather’s hot, the soup’s cold and tomatoes are at their peak. Some restaurants are flexing their creative muscles brilliantly with the classic garlic-tomato-olive oil-vinegar soup.
Take chef Carrie Nahabedian, who perches a crunchy-crisped soft-shell crab in a pool of freshly juiced tomato scented with lemon grass, basil and gin for the gazpacho she serves at Naha.
At Mercat a la Planxa, a tomato-watermelon gazpacho is the lunch-hour star, while a white gazpacho (ajo blanco) of almonds, garlic, vinegar and grapes with peekytoe crab and crispy shallots rules at dinner. Chef de cuisine Cory Morris suggested adding watermelon to Mercat’s garlic-tomato base during the lunch soup’s development with executive chef Jose Garces. “Watermelon adds just a really nice lightness to it,” says Morris.
Gazpacho is a terrific antidote for hot weather. Has been for centuries. Nurtured in the Andalusian region of Spain, it began life sans tomatoes, with bread serving as a thickener for a garlic-olive-oil-water mix.
It wasn’t until Chris Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 and brought the red fruit back from the New World that tomatoes worked their way into the garlicky mix. Cucumbers, sweet peppers and onion sometimes join the party, but aren’t considered traditional.
In “The Heritage of Spanish Cooking,” authors Alicia Rios and Lourdes March write that gazpacho originally referred to a “rustic yet creative combination of ingredients in a mortar, improvised with whatever was available, but always based on the constant components of bread, water, oil, salt, vinegar and garlic.”
La Tasca tapas restaurant pays homage to the classic, incorporating bread into its gazpacho. Chef Ignacio Caldera, whose grandparents hailed from Andalusia, recalled his grandmother using a bit of bread to thicken the soup and lots of garlic to make it somewhat spicy — “picoso,” says the chef.
So when Caldera and restaurant owner Danny Barbarigos tasted and tested a dozen-plus gazpachos, “we upped the bread and added a little bit more garlic. That’s when people started coming for carryout just for that little soup,” Barbarigos said.
A gazpacho can be pureed or chopped chunky as a salsa — or combine both preparation techniques. Tomatoes and garlic (lots of garlic) are integral to the variations we tried. Because gazpacho is such a seasonal item, check with a restaurant to make sure it’s on the menu when you plan to visit. Expect most restaurants to feature it at least through Labor Day.
Mercat a la Planxa
638 S. Michigan Ave., 312-765-0524;
mercatchicago.com
The view out tall windows onto Grant Park is fabulous and the gazpacho dreamy. A drizzle of dark green basil oil plus flecks of piment d’espelette add flavor to the smooth coral soup (a nod to Spanish Catalan painter Joan Miro?). Tomato perfect, gently garlicked and balanced with watermelon, the soup arrives with a crisp slice of brioche topped with goat-cheese swirls, an avocado slice and crab salad ($6). Or, as part of the two-course Catalan Express lunch ($18).
Cool:
So refreshing, so lovely.
Not-so-cool:
I could have eaten a second bowl.
Naha
500 N. Clark St., 312-321-6242;
naha-chicago.com
Amazingly delicate gazpacho balances freshly juiced tomato with lemon grass, gin (yes, gin) and a gentle touch of spice. Fresh basil, tiny croutons, balls of perfectly ripe avocado and a handful of cucumber dice add to the complexity of flavors and textures. The most intriguing element? A soft-shell crab — a crisp exterior, sweet and juicy interior — perched in the middle of the soup ($14).
Cool:
Its delicate character despite the diversity of elements.
Not-so-cool:
It’s not served year ’round.
Keefer’s
20 W. Kinzie St., 312-467-9525;
keefersrestaurant.com
Deep red and richly flavored, with a good garlic balance, Keefer’s gazpacho boasts a spoonful of diced vegetables that adds crunch to the pureed soup. It’s a perfect meal opener (cup $3, bowl $6).
Cool:
Flavor nicely balanced.
Not-so-cool:
Shoulda got the bowl.
Emilio’s Sol Y Nieve
215 E. Ohio St., 312-467-7177;
emiliostapas.com
Andalusian gazpacho at Emilio’s Sol y Nieve comes topped with a crisp toasted baguette slice. Beneath? A pureed tangy tomato-garlic mix with some chopped parsley and a few diced vegetables augmenting the texture ($4.95).
Cool:
Fresh lively tang.
Not-so-cool:
Almost icy cold.
La Tasca
25 W. Davis St., Arlington Heights; 847-398-2400;
latascatapas.com
Gazpacho at La Tasca may simply be called “sopa del dia” ($3.95) on the menu, but the ingredients stay as close to the classic as you may find this far from the Iberian Peninsula. The gazpacho is a nicely balanced garlic-tomato mix; a bit of bread adds body. Coarsely chopped tomatoes, sweet peppers and white onion arrive on the side to let you up the crunch level.
Cool:
Delicious with a lovely texture.
Not-so-cool:
Could have made a meal of it.
Pret A Manger
73 W. Monroe St., 312-260-4301. Also: 211 W. Adams St., 312-546-8270; 100 N. LaSalle St.; 312-660-9494;
pret.com/us
At Pret A Manger, the 125-calorie serving of “skinny gazpacho” sits brightly among the sandwich-salad items in the serve-yourself cooler section. Its flavor is lively, its smooth texture embellished with chunks of cucumber and sweet peppers in red, yellow and green ($4.89).
Cool:
Tasty on-the-run solution
Not-so-cool:
Have to get there early because they can run out of the soup fast (as I learned when I visited after 1 p.m.).
Smith & Wollensky
318 N. State St.; 312-670-9900;
smithandwollensky.com
Gazpacho at Smith & Wollensky boasts a crunchy texture with powerful garlic punch. The thick soup comes with a wedge of lobster quesadilla ($12) on the side. Also on the menu: a trio of seared scallops with a shot glass of tomatillo gazpacho ($14). That gazpacho, too thick to sip, was fine-spooned over the scallops.
Cool:
A huge portion with lots of fine crunch.
Not-so-cool:
Quesadillas should never be served unheated.
Twitter @judytrib
