In the frig – Gazpacho (Recipe)
Linda’s Refrigerator
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Gazpacho (Modified from original recipe by Alton Brown)
Savory Gazpacho
My first real experience with Gazpacho was on the lovely island of St. Barthelemy in the Caribbean. My husband and I were on vacation, having lunch at our hotel Le Guanahani. The sky was a beautiful blue, there was a slight breeze, but man, it was HOT! Just the idea of ordering a cheeseburger and fries made me feel bloated. I noticed Gazpacho on the menu. Hmmm…tomatoes, cucumber, served cold – sounded refreshing. It was on that vacation that I fell in love with gazpacho.
I adore tomatoes, eat them almost every day as snacks, as my side veggie for dinner and or add them into scrambled eggs, cottage cheese or sandwiches. Take juicy lycopene-rich tomatoes and toss them with crunchy cucumber and red pepper, jalapenos and it’s my idea of a healthful, satisfying side or meal. When you make this gazpacho, make sure you chill overnight (so the flavors fuse together) use sharp knives and plenty of time.
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Sharp knives because you will be chopping, dicing and slicing. Please folks, don’t use a dull knife and use an appropriate knife. You wouldn’t use a spoon to cut a steak, so don’t use a butter knife to slice your tomatoes!
- This recipe takes time! It’s by no means hard, but it’s a lot of work – for me anyway, I am not a professional. Mise en place your veggies (French culinary term for put in place). This means do all the chopping first before you begin assembling. I find it very difficult to try to quick boil the tomatoes and chop while grabbing things from the frig. So get everything chopped and measured, then assemble. Trust me, you will need to be organized otherwise you will have gazpacho in places you would never imagine!
Now usually when I have gazpacho, I will either just take a big bowl for lunch or perhaps serve it as an appetizer before dinner. You can incorporate a little warm bite by serving the gazpacho with a prosciutto, cheese and arugula panini (grill if you do not have a panini press). When serving guests, spoon the gazpacho into a martini glass or small, short glass, garnish with lime wedge, or a small dice of jalapeno or cilantro or basil. I am no chef, but the photo above was something I did! So don’t be afraid and be creative!
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Garlic: I love garlic, so I double. And if I have a baby clove of garlic hanging around, sometimes I will add three.
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No Basil: I also do not use basil. I love basil – it’s a wonderful herb and you can use it in sweet and savory items. I do not add it because I prefer that cumin “latin” taste. Some people substitute cilantro for the basil.
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Jalapenos: Now, I am not consistent when it comes to the addition of heat. It depends on my mood. Sometimes I want more heat – so I will add a Serrano chile. A Serrano will definitely add heat. If the gazpacho is just for me to enjoy, I add it. If you are having friends over, it’s likely a better idea to use the jalapeno. Some people will tell you they like spicy food. If those people travel abroad a great deal or have a penchant for spicy foods (Thai, Indian, etc), you may get away with a Serrano. But by and large when someone says I like spicy, they mean American-style spicy. (If you notice, when you order at a Thai place you can get mild, medium, hot or Thai hot…yeah, Thai hot is SMOKIN’ HOT).
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Toasted cumin: I do not toast the cumin. Alton loves to toast and roast. I am lazy, so I do not. If you want to toast the cumin, I think it will really release even more of the cumin flavor.
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SEED THE CUCUMBER: You must do this. If you take the lazy approach, your gazpacho will be watery.
While I do make some modifications, I follow the directions to the “T”. I highly recommend doing the quick boil of the tomato
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1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
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Tomato juice
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1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
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1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
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1/2 cup chopped red onion
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1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
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1 medium garlic clove, minced
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1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
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1 lime, juiced
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2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
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2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
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1/2 teaspoon toasted, ground cumin
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1 teaspoon kosher salt
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1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
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2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade
Directions
Fill a 6-quart pot halfway full of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer to an ice bath and allow to cool until able to handle, approximately 1 minute. Remove and pat dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup. Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve with chiffonade of basil.
