Summertime and the gazpacho-making is easy.
I made my first gazpacho of the season last week. And it never fails to hit the spot during humid and hot times.
My heavy-duty blender and my dependable food mill combine to create a smooth classic taste of summer.
Gazpacho recipes are all about using what you have.
Last week I liked:
2 pounds tomato, 1 pound cucumber, half-pound red pepper, half-pound yellow pepper, half-pound onion, 1 jalapeño seeded, 3 peeled garlic cloves, 2 slices stale sourdough bread soaked in water and squeezed out.
Plus 4 tablespoons olive oil, 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, a few freshly picked basil leaves from my patio. Plus salt and pepper to taste.
Everything gets blended then run through the food mill.
Of course, this recipe is how I made it last week.
Next week I may change my mind depending on what I have on hand and what my mood is. I might opt for almonds instead of stale bread. I might use red-wine vinegar instead of sherry. I might use scallions instead or in addition to onions.
Fresh mint instead of basil? Why not?
Poblano pepper instead of jalapeño? Go for it.
Some freshly shucked and scrapped corn off the cob? Oh baby, oh baby.
The beauty of gazpacho is that there as several classic Spanish recipes that you can use as a springboard for when your imagination meets the contents of your fridge.
So start whirring away with your summer bounty.
— LOU
I remember way back in the late ‘70s we made gazpacho all the time. It was all the rage. One of my stepmothers (that’s another story) used to make a gazpacho salad. It was all the ingredients of the soup diced up and layered in a tall bowl. And, you will like this Lou, it had anchovies.
Someday I will have to try that again. I think the recipe was from Gourmet magazine. That may be something I might have to conjure up from memory. I’m not sure I can Google back that far.
— LUCY