Gazpacho is one of those dishes that I often order in restaurants throughout the summer but rarely make myself at home. A recent NY Times Cooking article titled,”Best Gazpacho” inspired me to try my hand at it at home using as many vegetables out of my CSA as I could. The Times ran a beautiful illustration along with the recipe on Instagram that underscored the simplicity of this summer soup. Their recipe called for blending 2 lbs of tomatoes with 1 hot pepper, 1 onion, 1 cucumber and a garlic clove with 2 tsp sherry vinegar, salt and 1/2 cup olive oil. I strayed slightly from the recipe in the method, I like a chunkier soup so skipped the step of straining. I also added fresh parsley and a little more cucumber hence why my soup turned out slightly more green than vibrant red. I served it with an extra drizzle of olive oil, a sprig of fresh parsley, a sprinkle of feta and a hunk of LMNOP bread. See my simplified version of the recipe below and keep in mind proportions, ingredients and toppings are all adaptable!
Summer Gazpacho
Adapted from New York Times Cooking
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
- 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
- 1 cucumber peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 small onion peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 garlic clove
- 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- 2 tsps sherry vinegar
- Generous pinch of salt to taste
- 1/2 cup olive oil
Directions
- Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber onion and garlic in a blender (I used my Nutri Bullet and it worked great). Work in batches if blender gets too full. Blend for at least 2 minutes until smooth.
- Add the vinegar and 2 tsps of salt and then the olive oil, continue to blend until creamy.
- Chill until very cold. Before serving adjust seasonings adding more salt and vinegar as needed. Serve with an additional drizzle of olive oil, feta cheese, sprig of fresh parsley and hunk of bread for dipping.
Bedford Balabusta 