Gazpacho

Hall takes a modern approach to the chilled soup and uses white balsamic vinegar and golden tomatoes instead of red tomatoes. He also augments the soup with shrimp and snow crab.

Quite a few Tucson restaurants break out the cold soup, which originated in Andalusia, Spain, during the summer.

"Chilled soups are the soups to be drinking now," said Janos Wilder, owner and chef of Janos and J Bar restaurants. "It's all about seasonality."

About two months ago, Wilder introduced two gazpachos: a mango and a strawberry, both of which are in season.

Later this summer, he plans to concoct a gazpacho with corn, lemongrass and ginger.

"We're used to the chopped vegetables and tomato broth - this isn't all that," said Wilder, who has offered tomato-based gazpachos in his restaurants for nearly 30 years.

To prepare his gazpachos, Wilder uses an Andalusian technique in which he purées the vegetables with bread and olive oil to form a "really great texture."

Dominique Stoller, the executive chef of Contigo, created variations of traditional gazpacho - including organic white sweet corn - because she doesn't like a plain tomato base. "I'm not a huge fan of traditional gazpacho - I think it tastes like salsa," Stoller said. "Now I'm a giant, enormous gazpacho fan."

While some places offer gazpacho only in the summer, Hall of Acacia sells his year-round.

"We're in Arizona - does it really ever get cold here?" he said. "People want it all the time."

Here are a few places that serve gazpacho:

47 Scott

47 N. Scott Ave. (624-4747): The new restaurant's chilled summer soup ($6) isn't officially called gazpacho, but the delightful vegan purée of cucumber, golden tomato and roasted yellow peppers could have fooled us. Each soup is served with crusty bread.

Acacia at St. Philips

4340 N. Campbell Ave. (232-0101): Acacia gets fancy and packs its golden tomato gazpacho ($16) with shrimp, snow crab and avocado, and serves it in a large martini glass.

Azul Restaurant Lounge

3800 E. Sunrise Drive (742-6000): Chef de cuisine Amanda Lindquist added an asparagus gazpacho to her menu Wednesday, and each bowl ($8) is topped with crème fraiche and a pistachio and asiago cheese crisp. She described it as a smooth blend of blanched asparagus sautéed with basil, onions, spinach, roasted garlic and a touch of cream.

Beyond Bread

3026 N. Campbell Ave. (322-9965); 6260 E. Speedway (747-7477): Beyond Bread's gazpacho is offered daily, and it follows the classic model with tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, cucumbers, celery, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, hot sauce, garlic and green bell peppers. Every cup ($2.95) and bowl ($5.25) comes with a slice of bread.

Casa Vicente

375 S. Stone Ave. (884-5253): The traditional gazpacho Andaluz ($5.95) has tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and garlic. It's served year-round and is garnished with croutons on top.

Contigo

1745 E. River Road (299-1730): The new Latin restaurant offers a daily soup ($7) in a large martini glass. The soup is often one of three gazpachos - golden bell pepper, fire-roasted tomato or organic white sweet corn - prepared by executive chef Dominique Stoller.

Delectables Restaurant and Catering

533 N. Fourth Ave. (884-9289): Delectables' tomato-based version doesn't include bread in the recipe and has been the house soup since 1979, general manager Chris Baldwin said. The soup costs $4 per cup and $7 a bowl, and it's also available by the gallon for $50, which feeds about 30 people. Baldwin said Delectables' ingredients include red onions, bell peppers, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers and cilantro.

The Grill at Hacienda del Sol

5501 N. Hacienda del Sol Road (529-3500): The recipe for The Grill's gazpacho uses local Tanque Verde Farm tomatoes and is garnished with wild Mexican shrimp and whitefish ($8).

J Bar and Janos

3770 E. Sunrise Drive (615-6100): Janos Wilder offers chilled Andalusian spring mango and strawberry gazpachos with a salad of avocado and citrus tossed in ginger and mint painted with mango fire sauce ($8.50 at J Bar; $14 at Janos, which includes Dungeness crab).

Recipes

Andalusian strawberry or mango gazpacho

In this part of Spain, gazpacho is often made as a smooth, cold soup that is slightly thickened and flavored with bread and olive oil. This recipe can be used with many different fruits.

Each recipe yields 2 quarts.

Ingredients:

• 2 pints fresh strawberries, stemmed and roughly chopped OR

• 5 ripe mangos, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1/4 cup fresh grated ginger

• 2 fairly thick slices ciabatta

• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp. white balsamic vinegar

• 1/4 cup lime juice

• 1 quart water

• Salt

Place bread in small bowl with just enough water to cover.

Squeeze the bread dry and place in blender with the strawberries or mangos and ginger. Puree until smooth.

With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow steady stream followed by the vinegar and lime juice in a slow, steady stream.

With the motor still running, add about 1 quart of water in a slow, steady stream to proper consistency.

Season with salt.

Source: Janos Wilder

Traditional gazpacho

• 1 28-ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes. Use blender to purée

• 1/4 cup grated and peeled carrots

• 1/2 peeled, seeded and diced cucumber

• 1/2 seeded and diced green bell pepper

• 1/4 diced red onion

• 1/8 bunch diced cilantro

• 1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic (Do not use garlic salt.)

• 1 diced garlic clove

• 3 dashes Cholula hot sauce

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Mix well and refrigerate until cold. Makes six servings.

Source: Donna DiFiore, owner of Delectables Restaurant and Catering