Meera Sodha’s vegan recipe for gochujang gazpacho

From theguardian.com

Take the classic Andalusian gazpacho on a trip to Korea for a liaison with some spicy pepper paste and a pear, then serve with garlicky croutons 

British tomatoes are at their very best right now, so it would be rude of me to not give you a recipe to celebrate them in all their glory. This chilled soup highlights their best bits: their savouriness and sweetness, as well as the tomato’s unique ability to transform into a meal without any need for cooking. In this variation, I’ve taken the classic Andalusian gazpacho on a trip to Korea, where it had a happy liaison with some gochujang and a pear. Where the two meet – the sweet heat and the cool, salty savouriness – is where the pleasure of this dish lies.

Gochujang gazpacho

Gochujang is a Korean pepper paste that’s now available in most large UK supermarkets and east Asian supermarkets, and it’s fantastically versatile – use it in place of chilli to add warmth to your meals. If the weather is not playing ball, cut out and keep this recipe for when it is. If you don’t have time to chill the soup, serve it over ice cubes.

Prep 10 min
Cook 20 min
Chill 2 hr+
Serves 6 for lunch

50g crustless white bread, roughly chopped
2½ tbsp gochujang paste
75ml rapeseed oil
1kg ripe tomatoes, chopped
2 red romano peppers, stalks, seeds and pith discarded, flesh roughly chopped (175g net)
4 spring onions (100g), trimmed and roughly chopped
1 ripe pear, cored and chopped, (125g net)
1 tbsp white-wine vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
¼ tsp white pepper

For the garlic butter croutons
200g sliced bread
100g unsalted vegan butter
2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
25g parsley, leaves picked, to get 15g, finely chopped
¼ tsp fine salt

Pop the bread, gochujang and two tablespoons of water in a food processor or blender, and blitz to a paste. With the motor going, add the oil a little at a time and blend until smooth. Add the chopped tomatoes, peppers, spring onions and pear, then blend again. Season with the vinegar, soy and pepper, blend one final time, until you have a nice, smooth soup, then refrigerate for a couple of hours.

Just before serving, toast the sliced bread, then cut it into 1cm cubes. Melt the butter in a hot frying pan and, when it’s foaming, add the garlic and salt, and cook, stirring, for a minute. Toss in the cubes of toasted bread and stir-fry for three or four minutes, until all the butter has been soaked up. Toss through the parsley, then take off the heat and leave to cool.

To serve, pour the cold gazpacho into bowls and top with some garlicky croutons.

Meera Sodha’s gochujang gazpacho. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian. Food styling: Emily Kydd. Prop styling: Jennifer Kay.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2023/aug/26/vegan-gochujang-chilli-gazpacho-recipe-meera-sodha