summer gazpacho
12Aug10
Gazpacho is one of those dishes that you can’t serve to just anyone. It is a cold, savory soup (almost a liquid salad, really). I happen to love tomatoes in all forms — including juice — so I don’t mind its potentially unappetizing, unconventional (to Americans, of course) approach . I love the depth of flavors and textures in this recipe. It bursts with summer; bright, tart, salty, sweet, crunchy.
Gazpacho, like rosé, sangria, pimento cheese, fondue and various other 1970s dishes, is enjoying a bit of a renaissance these days. I’m all for it! Especially, when my fridge is full of CSA leftovers that need to be eaten. Bring on the chill!
Summer Gazpacho
Ingredients:
- 5 small tomatoes, diced
- 3 small cloves of garlic
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 loaf of rustic bread (e.g. Pugliese)
- 1/2 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 red pepper, finely diced
- 1 green pepper, finely diced
- 1 bulb fennel, finely diced
- 1 avocado, chopped
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro
- 48 oz. tomato juice
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 3 shakes of Tabasco hot sauce
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- salt and pepper, to taste
Instructions:
- Chop tomatoes and put in a medium-sized bowl.
- Pound garlic and salt with mortar and pestle. Add to tomatoes.
- Cut crust off bread and chop. Add to tomato mixture.
- Chop onion, peppers, and fennel. Mix in large bowl.
- Put bread mixture in blender with 1/4 of veggie mix. Pour 1 cup of tomato juice into blender and blend until smooth.
- Once smooth, slowly drizzle the olive oil into the mixture while the blender is on its medium setting.
- Pour mixture over the rest of diced veggies.
- Add cilantro.
- Add rest of tomato juice, red wine vinegar and Tabasco.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Enjoy!
Filed under: Mains, Soups, Vegan | 1 Comment
Tags: chilled, soup, summer, tomato
I like your version. It’s easy & there’s some nice texture instead of all pureed.