Because I love you all so very much, here’s a link to a year-old New York Times Food Section article about Andalusian gazpacho. Please do not raise your nose and say “SO 1953!!!”
I made this stuff twice last summer, and have been dreaming about it since. We’ve had it three times in the past three weeks, since the ripe New Jersey tomatoes have come into the markets.
There is NO BREAD in this gazpacho, so it’s lo-cal, if you care about that. (“If the tomatoes and cucumbers are good, they provide enough body.”). There IS a good deal of olive oil in it, though.
You DRINK IT OUT OF A GLASS. I cannot describe how delightful this is on a hot, humid, August evening. We serve it with toast spread with ripe, salted avocado.
Very easy to make with a high-speed blender. I used to make gazpacho in a Cuisinart, but the blender pulverizes and liquifies the vegetables much more efficiently.
Make it in the morning, chill it thoroughly in the fridge, and put your prettiest glasses in the freezer 20 minutes before serving.
Gazpacho may be déclassé these day, but TRY THIS. It will snap your motherfucking stix.
(This is the full article, which I found fascinating. Click on the pic for the video, and there’s a link a little down on the right side for the written recipe)
I totally fucked up on my tomato plants this year. I was distracted by numerous things, and I didn’t treat them right. I got 8 ounces of juice from my miserable effort. So no gazpacho this year. I’ll get back on the horse next year.
Just so you all know, the NYT subscription price is pretty reasonable, and then you get the ‘Recipe Box’ feature. One click saves interesting recipes for you; it’s a nice tool.
I just tasted some I made and it’s good but I think I used too much onion, and it was strong, not mild enough. I added a little more tomato and cucumber too.
So I’ll try it again in a couple of days, using what I learned today.
Made a pitcher over the weekend, and it was terrific. I think I’ll do it again next weekend. This time, I want to pick up a couple of lemons or limes for garnish. I’m also thinking that a splash of cold seltzer would be a nice addition.
I made a double batch on Saturday after a visit to the farmers’ market. Had an odd glass over the next two days (EXCELLENT), then we finished it off for dinner last night. With grilled summer squash and ricotta.
My access to good local tomatoes is being choked off, as the little Korean greengrocers are closing right and left and being replaced by real estate offices and nail salons. The goormay groceries are bringing in cosmetically perfect tomatoes from Canada that I KNOW will taste like paper-mache.
IT IS TOMATO SEASON, ASSHOLES. FARMERS IN JERSEY AND THE HUDSON VALLEY WILL SELL YOU GLORIOUS TOMATOES AT A PENNY A BUSHEL, BECAUSE THEY DON’T KEEP.
I never strain it because each batch goes into the Osterizer blender for at least two minutes, plus the on-off pulses that I use to start off. It’s absolutely smooth.
Although ONE guy on the Times cooking website said IT’S THE STRAINING THAT MAKES IT OH MY GOD I CAN FEEL THE TOMATOEY PLEASURE ALL THE WAY DOWN IN MY BALLS so I might try straining it sometime just to see.
