What is traditionally the main ingredient of gazpacho?
Gazpacho omitting the tomatoes and bread in favor of avocados, cucumbers, parsley, watermelon, grapes, meat stock, seafood, and other ingredients. In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar, water, and salt. The following is a typical modern method of preparing gazpacho: Traditionally, gazpacho was made by pounding the vegetables in a mortar with a pestle; this more laborious method is still sometimes used as it helps keep the gazpacho cool and avoids the foam and the completely smooth consistency created by blenders and food processors. A traditional way of
Torta de gazpacho the Andalusian cold soup also called "gazpacho". There are ways of preparing "torta de gazpacho"-based dishes without meat. In ancient times when meat or game was scarce, gazpachos were prepared with a vegetable stew. The main ingredient of the stew were seasonal vegetables, like zucchini, bell pepper and eggplant, especially in the comarcas of the Region of Murcia. In La Mancha, a much less fertile region, bladder campion "(Silene vulgaris)" leaves were used for the stew instead of the meat. Traditionally the vegetarian gazpachos were considered inferior fare, only to be eaten in difficult times or by the poor people.