Lapsang Souchong Gazpacho

[kelpfrond]

Some time ago, while making gazpacho, I suddenly craved for a stronger, fuller flavor. I had some good Lapsang Souchong on hand, and an intuition to put some in the blender. The result was fantastic... the umami of the tomatoes & garlic combined wonderfully with the smokey aroma, yielding a rich, complex gazpacho, esp. suitable for spring/autumn when cooling off isn't its main purpose. I never again made gazpacho without and over the past few weeks was getting increasingly proud of my well-liked invention. Until the day I googled it and found out it's nothing new . See e.g. http://teahorse.co.uk/info/smoky-lapsang-gazpacho/ -- though it calls for 2 heaped teaspoons per 1kg of tomatoes whereas I found a very small amount, less than 1 teaspoon for sure, to work better. It's really delicious!

[teaisme]

this I have to try thanks

[victoria3]

Thanks I'm definitely going to try this since I make gazpacho every summer. Do you also steep your leaves in vinegar and discard them? I bet its a bit smoky tasting?

[kelpfrond]

I've been only putting some leaves directly in the mix. Adds little black specks after blending. I'd suggest using your favorite gazpacho recipe & adding ~1 teaspoon per 1kg tomatoes (~1.3-1.4kg gazpacho) and see where you want to take it from there.

The leaves have to be very finely blended, so if you like coarser-textured gazpacho, perhaps it's better to pre-blend them with some tomato or try the vinegar steep.