If you're in an area where it's peak tomato season, you need to try this gazpacho recipe.
It's become our go-to gazpacho, it's so good!
After I read the description of this gazpacho in the NY Times and remembered how good it was when Chef Jose Garces made it at his house a couple of years ago, I needed to give it a try.Use the best tomatoes and olive oil you can.
Best Gazpacho Recipe:
2 pounds of red tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
1 Italian or Anaheim pepper, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into chunks
1 small onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 clove of garlic, peeled
Part of a Serrano chile, seeded and thinly sliced (optional, if you like a little heat)
2 teaspoons Sherry vinegar
2 teaspoons salt, more to taste
¼ cup good olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Combine the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender.
Blend at high speed until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt, taste and add the Serrano chile if you're using.
The next part you might want to do in batches unless you have a big blender.
Very slowly pour in the olive oil, so the gazpacho can emulsify. It will thicken and change color, becoming more orange.
If it seems thin, keep slowly pouring in the olive oil and it will thicken up. Taste and adjust the vinegar, salt and oil as needed.
Strain and discard the solids.
Pour into a pitcher and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight. Serve in glasses with a drizzle of olive oil on the top and enjoy!
My verdict: Fabulous! It took a few minutes, but the color did change and the texture and taste was perfect. You really need a blender for this – sadly, a food processor won’t give you a fine enough puree.
I didn’t have the right kind of peppers, so I seeded and chopped a couple of pepperoncini, and they worked fine.
Since you really taste the olive oil, be sure to use something delicious. If you wanted, a shot of vodka might be interesting.
The original recipe suggests pouring the gazpacho over ice, which I think is a good idea; even though ours had chilled all afternoon, it never tasted really cold.
And forget Christmas in July, I'm thinking about making a batch and freezing it, so it can be August in the middle of January!
