Category Archives: Oceanaire

June is almost behind us now and the summertime has officially unofficially begun.  As my thoughts run toward fresh Midwestern produce nothing reminds me of summer, other than my sunburned forehead, more than a cup of cool velvety and crisp gazpacho.  You want to use the freshest, ripest vegetables available.  So that means we may need to wait a while longer, but the actual key to real Gazpacho has more to do with bread and olive oil than produce.   Food writer extraordinaire Craig Claiborne once called Spain’s legendary soup Gazpacho “a liquid salad from Spain.”

True gazpacho from Andalusia in southern Spain is always a smooth and silky puree, and it never separates.  It’s this great puree of peppers, tomatoes, onion and cucumber from the south of Spain that is rarely ever served with those little salad bar bits to disturb the velveteen bliss.  This is the bread and olive oil that gives the satiny liquid its brilliant sheen.  Many modern chefs leave out the bread and don’t realize they are violating the very essence of the dish, which is and should be undisputedly bready.  This is a very old and classic culinary idea dating back to Roman times of using day old bread in many dishes and may be directly related to the Spanish word “caspa” which means “ a piece of bread in soup”.   So don’t sacrifice the bread and don’t skimp on the olive oil!

This is my favorite way to make and serve gazpacho at home, it’s the richest, smoothest, most delicious gazpacho ever.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds sweet red bell peppers
• 1 pound very ripe tomatoes
• 1 pound cucumber
• 8 ounces crustless French or Italian bread (weight after the crust is removed)
• 2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
• 1 cup chopped sweet onion
• 1/3 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste

1. Grill peppers on a grill, or on top of a gas range over open flame. Frequently turn peppers until evenly charred on all sides (about 5-7 minutes). Put the charred peppers into a paper bag for 10 minutes, and then peel charred skins from the peppers. Cut peppers open; discard stems and seeds. Place peeled and seeded pepper fillets in the work bowl of a food processor.
2. Cut out the stems of each tomato, then blanch in salted boiling water for 1 minute and peel off the skins. Cut skinned tomatoes in quarters and squeeze out seeds from the tomato pieces and reserve the liquid in a separate bowl.  Place peeled and seeded tomato fillets in the food processor bowl with the peppers.
3. Peel the cucumbers, and cut them in half the long way. Working with a teaspoon, scoop out the cucumber seeds. Cut the cucumbers into the coarse chunks, and add them to the food processors.
4. Place the bread in a bowl of cold water for 30 seconds, then squeeze the water out of the bread. Add the bread to the food processor, along with the garlic, onion, olive oil, vinegar and tomato paste.  Process for at least 2 minutes, or until a smooth puree is achieved.
5. Place the gazpacho in a covered bowl and refrigerate for 2-4 hours (the longer it sits, the better the flavors will blend).
6. Before serving, transfer the gazpacho to a blender, and blend on med-high speed for no longer than a minute or two, and then pour the gazpacho back through a medium fine strainer or chinois into another large bowl and mash the pulp against the sides with a wooden spoon being sure to extract every possible drop of satiny goodness.

You should get this satiny liquid puree that has the consistency of a great veloute, if it seems somewhat thick yet, add the reserved liquid from the tomatoes.  Season to taste with salt, pepper and some additional vinegar and extra virgin olive oil, if desired.

Makes about 4 servings

In Andalusia, they would serve this up in wine glasses, juice glasses or a chilled coffee cup with a soup spoon drizzled with another spritz of good local olive oil as the only garnish…no salsa, relish, sour cream or chopped salad bar bits in sight.

Disfrutar!