I usually don’t strain gazpacho, but I did (passed it through a strainer with a wooden spoon), and it made it nice and extra smooth. Is it worth the extra effort? I’m not a stickler about super smooth purees (I typically make the bready version of gazpacho or whatever the other name for it is) and generally like texture in my soups, but for serving in a glass as a beverage more than soup and to impress company, I would.
Same here. When I make pureed soups like vichyssoise or cauliflower vichyssoise or soupe a la Bonne Femme or cold zucchini soup I like to leave a little texture in the pot so you know what a good boy you are for eating all those vegetables. I also made bready gazpacho (Mark Bittman’s recipe is really good; garlic but no onion) until I read this Times article.
But this gazpacho comes out of the blender so smooth I can’t imagine what would be left behind in the strainer.
I only ask because the recipe specifically said to strain it. I wondered if it made a difference, since it was getting rave reviews.
I strained it, but virtually all of it passed through the strainer. My 55-year-old 2-speed Waring blender did an excellent job of pulverization.
I’m making a double-batch tomorrow. I’m wondering if an immersion blender will do the job as well.
Interesting. I had a good bit of roughage leftover, maybe a half cup. Lots of seeds, skins, etc.
Really? My 30-year-old Osterizer, like Cartoonacy’s Waring, reduced everything to smooth, thick liquid. Are you giving it at least two minutes at top speed after the initial pulse-munching?
I’m making a double batch tomorrow morning, too, after a trip to the Saturday morning farmers’ market. I’m a big fan of my immersion blender, but I don’t think I’d get the smoothness results I achieve with my terrifying powerful standup blender.
Ok. I just made it. Didn’t have cubanelles at the farmers market but a very mild pepper called lunchbox that I used instead. Haven’t strained it but it’s very smooth. Look how pretty! Off to chill.
Throw in some Grey Goose and I’m there. 
Yes!
Hasn’t fully chilled but had some. It was really smooth after copious blending but I strained some into a cup and there were pulp/solids left behind. The resulting soup was even smoother and creamier than the unstrained version. Both were excellent but straining does make a difference.
Bumping this thread as a Public Service. Happy Tomato Season again!
Making my fourth batch of the season tomorrow morning.
There’s a restaurant near here that does a version where the tomato, cucumber and onion are left in little tiny cubes/chunks, no puree. It’s not drinkable but it’s fantastic. Anybody know of a good recipe like this?
Pretty much do the same as above, and add tiny cubes of tomato, cucumber, and onion.
For a standard, spoon-up-from-the-bowl gazpacho, I always liked the Mark Bittman recipe from HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING. Contains stale bread, which bulks it up a lot.
The thing I like about this thread’s featured recipe is that good in-season summer vegetables don’t NEED the bread. But even bad gazpacho, like bad sex, can be pretty great.
Thanks to this thread and an overabundance of tomatoes in the garden, guess what’s in the fridge now? 
This really is lovely stuff. Before this thread originally posted, I only made the bready version of gazpacho (or salmorejo), which I serve with various accoutrements, like eggs, chopped vegetables, ham, etc. So more like something you’d actually eat as a light summer meal, rather than something that is more like a cooling refresher or smoothie. I like them both, depending on what I’m trying to accomplish (do I want to feel like I actually ate something, or just sip on some tasty tomato treat?)
Exactly! Last night was stultifyingly hot and humid, and I woke up three times, slipped into the kitchen and drank off about four ounces each time. Really took the edge off.
I find the stuff more filling than you’d think, probably because of all the olive oil. Like the original article said, it’s good when you’re “craving cold, craving salt, and craving lunch all at the same time.”
I’m pretty sure there’s no bread in the gaspacho I was talking about. Lots of cubed veg, and a clear broth (little or no blending).
The broth appears to be just all the veg juices and a little seasoning of herbs.
I know. Just make the gazpacho as in the recipe above (which has no bread) and add little dice of veggies for texture. There’s also quick & dirty “gazpacho” recipes which basically start with a V-8 or tomato juice base and add diced vegetables to that.
ETA: Oh, wait, you said “clear broth.” What do you mean by that? To me, clear is like vegetable or chicken stock, something you can see through. Do you mean more like tomato juice? Then it may just be juiced vegetables as the base. When I go the gazpacho, I blend it and pass it through a sieve, so you have a completely smooth base. Here’s a recipe for V-8 “gazpacho,” for instance. (Please don’t hurt me Spaniards and foodies.)
For most of this summer, I’ve made something similar every day between breakfast and lunch: tomatoes, cubanelle, peeled cucumber, onion and salt; blend and strain. I prefer it without bread, oil, vinegar or garlic because it’s easier to digest, but it’s certainly not gazpacho. This morning, I even threw a sprig of celery into the mix, so I had to laugh when I saw the v8 reference.
Anyway, about “clear broth,” the stuff I make tends to separate, with a clear liquid on the bottom.