Hot Pickle Gazpacho

Chef Tony Reed
Servings

4

Prep Time

25 minutes

Category

Side

Gazpacho, but the tomatoes stepped aside for pickles. Dill chips and their brine go into the blender with cucumber, tomatillo, celery, and garlic, then the whole thing gets strained fine and set with a whisper of xanthan gum so it pours like silk instead of separating in the bowl. Our Walmart-Exclusive Hot Pickle Seasoning does the seasoning at the end, once the soup is strained and you can actually taste what you are adjusting. Serve it colder than you think you should — this one runs on the shock of cold and sour on a hot afternoon.

Hot Pickle Gazpacho

Ingredients

  • 1 cup kosher dill pickle chips

  • ½ cup pickle brine

  • 1 English cucumber, peeled and seeded

  • 1 cup tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and chopped

  • ¼ cup celery, peeled and chopped

  • 2 Tbsp yellow onion, chopped

  • 1 garlic clove

  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice, plus more to taste

  • ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

  • 1.1 g xanthan gum (about ¼ tsp)

  • ½ cup vegetable stock, plus more as needed

  • 1 Tbsp Hot Pickle Seasoning (Available exclusively at Walmart)

  • kosher salt, to taste

Directions

  1. Combine the pickle chips, pickle brine, cucumber, tomatillos, celery, onion, garlic, and 2 Tbsp lemon juice in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 60 seconds.

  2. Strain the purée through a chinois or a cheesecloth-lined sieve, pressing with a ladle to pull through as much liquid as possible. Discard the solids.

  3. In a small bowl, whisk the xanthan gum into the olive oil until it disperses and no dry specks remain. This is what keeps it from clumping once it hits the liquid.

  4. Return the strained soup to the blender with the vegetable stock and the Hot Pickle Blend. Blend on low, then stream in the xanthan-oil mixture and keep blending until the soup is smooth, pourable, and just barely bodied.

  5. Season with kosher salt to taste. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate at least 2 hours, ideally overnight — the flavor rounds out as it sits.

  6. Before serving, taste again and adjust: pickle brine for sharpness, stock to loosen, lemon for brightness, or more Hot Pickle Blend for seasoning. Serve ice cold in chilled bowls or glasses.