When the weather is beastly hot, gazpacho is an excellent antidote. Fresh taste, no oven or stovetop to heat up the house, the best seasonal produce.
Really, that's it.
It's hot. Make gazpacho. Be cool.
2009: Smoky Deviled Eggs
2010: Brown Buttered Zucchini with Spaghetti
2011: Sushi Rice Salad
This gazpacho is a basic recipe that can be tweaked to your liking. Love garlic? Cilantro? Lime? Go wild! If you like more spice, increase the jalapeno or add just a bit at the beginning and, after everything is blended, taste the soup and add more jalapeno if you like.
My approach is to blend the strongest flavors most thorougly at the beginning to ensure that they will be spread uniformly throughout the soup. The milder vegetable flavors can be left more chunky.
The soup can be made ahead. The flavors will intensify and are even better after it has had a chance to sit overnight.
Serves 8
30 minutes preparation time, plus about 2 hours for chilling
4 slices peasant wheat or similar hearty wheat bread, crusts removed and cut coarsely (about 2 cups)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 jalapeno pepper
5 large tomatoes, diced
2 cups yellow cherry tomatoes, halved
2 cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 red, yellow, or orange peppers, seeded, cored, and diced
1 teaspoon cumin
juice of 1 or 2 limes (about 1/4 cup)
3/4 cup cilantro
1/4 cup parsley
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup Spanish olive oil
Set aside about two cups of the tomato, cucumber, and pepper to add back at the end for texture.
Pour half a cup of water over the bread and let it sit for about a minute. Squeeze out the water with your hands. Put the bread in a blender with the garlic, jalapeno pepper, and some of the tomato. Blend to a fine puree. Pour into a large bowl or soup tureen.
Blend the all of the remaining ingredients except the olive oil in batches. I don't blend the successive batches as finely so that the soup has a variety of textures. If needed, add some water, up to 2 cups total.
Add the olive oil to the last batch of vegetables and blend until the olive oil emulsifies. Add to the bowl with the other batches of blended vegetables. Add the remaining chopped vegetables and stir everything to combine. Refrigerate until the soup is thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours.
Yum!
Posted by: Ricky | July 19, 2012 at 11:49 AM