This is the Gazpacho they serve when you arrive in Paradise

Cafe Society
#1

Happy Tomato Season, everybody!

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)

#2

Tomatoes have also arrive in Northern Ohio the last two weeks. Thanks for the link.

#3

Hiya, Sam! Sorry to be so wordy in the OP. But this stuff will DESTROY you, and all your loved ones.

Incidentally, straining is really unnecessary if you run the blender good and hard for at LEAST two minutes.

Several people in the notes section disagree with that. They are worth reading; the suggestion to add a dollop of Tabasco is one I will consider.

#4

We practically live on gazpacho around here in the summertime.

I make it with yellow tomatoes, cilantro and cantaloupe.

I make it with peaches, red onion, and basil.

I make it as a thin version of pico de gallo.

I would eat it in a box, with a fox, in the rain, on a train, etc…

If there are any scraps remaining, I use them as a base for panzanella.

#5

Bought all the ingredients, and will be blending up a batch of it in the morning. Thanks!

If I may return the favor:


My wife doesn’t like either peas or mint, so whenever I make this I have to eat the whole potful myself. Pity me. :smiley:

#6

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.

#7

If, like me, you hate cucumber, make salmorejo instead: same thing minus the cucumber.

(Nothing personal, they started it: damned taste keeps coming back for a week)

#8

I find the link but not the amounts of each veggie to use, nor how much olive oil. I’d love to try it.

#9

The traditional amounts are “tomato as the base, the rest to taste”.

#10

[I found the recipe in the NYT cooking app. The OP says that if you click the video the recipe is listed, but that didn’t work on my phone]

Best Gazpacho
by Julia Moskin

Time: 20 minutes plus chilling time
Yield: 8 to 12 servings, about 1 quart


INGREDIENTS

About 2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and roughly cut into chunks

1 Italian frying (cubanelle) pepper or another long, light green pepper, such as Anaheim, cored, seeded and roughly cut into chunks

1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, peeled and roughly cut into chunks
1 small mild onion (white or red), peeled and roughly cut into chunks

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, more to taste

Salt

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste, plus more for drizzling
Download The New York Times Cooking App on the App Store.

#11

I like the green gazpacho soup that they sell at Whole Foods.

#12

IvoryTowerDenizen, thanks for the recipe!

#13

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.

#14

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.

#15

Go back to Russia!

#16

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.

#17

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.

#18

Did those of you who made it strain it or just blend it very well?

#19

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.

#20

That’s quite the endorsement. Report back!