One of my favorite summer vegetables is an impeccably ripe tomato. It’s fresh, light, and juicy – perfect to eat as is or to use in many different dishes. The harvest time for tomatoes is generally from the third week in July until September or early October. There are so many varieties from the little sungolds that pop in your mouth to Campari’s that are perfect for stuffing toheirloom varieties that are just bursting with flavor!
The hot temperatures we currently face don’t conjure up thoughts of hot tomato sauce so a chilled gazpacho soup would be perfect to accompany any party you may have. This dish brings back memories of eating it poolside at the Guerrero’s (basically my closest family friends) house in the middle of summer in Houston. The temperature was over 100 degrees and humid as can be. However, swimming in the pool and eating gazpacho was so refreshing and so damn good I didn’t even think about the heat! I also loved the tropezones that Conchita (Mrs. Guerrero) would serve in little clay cazuelas with the soup. Tropezones are the accoutrements of cubed bread, diced bell pepper, tomato, hard boil egg, onion, and cucumber. Each person then puts what they want into their soup. The tropezones are essentially what is inside the soup but in a different form adding incredible texture.
The recipe below is the classical Andalusian recipe from southern Spain! The original recipe, dating back to pre-Roman times, is a combination of stale bread, garlic, vinegar, oil and water. It was farmers who made it more of a dish when they started adding left over vegetables to the recipe. This was done to satisfy their hunger but also to quench their thirst in the scorching heat. As in most Spanish recipes try to use the highest quality ingredients you can. Gazpacho can be done with a mortar and pestle laboriously grinding it into a puree. If you would like to make it that way by all means please do so. However, the more practical and accessible method is to use the blender to make life easier.
Gazpacho Andaluz (serves 4-6 depending upon serving size)
Ingredients:
• 2-3 slices of day-old country bread, crusts removed and cut into small pieces
• 2 small garlic cloves – peeled and diced
• 1.5 pounds ripe, sweet tomatoes – skinned, seeded, and diced (or just left whole)
• 1 small red bell pepper – cored, seeded and diced
• 1 small green bell pepper – cored, seeded and diced
• 1 cucumber – peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/2 small red onion – peeled and chopped
• 1/2 cup of GOOD Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt – preferably Matiz
• 2 tablespoons aged sherry vinegar – preferably La Posada
• Note: save small amounts of bread, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, and onions to accompany the soup when serving
Directions:
1. Place bread in large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and juice from one tomato over it. Add 1 teaspoon of sherry vinegar and mix it well with your fingers. If still too dry, poor some water over it. Set aside, for at least 10 minutes.
2. Transfer bread mixture to a blender or food processor. Add garlic and salt. Process until very smooth.
3. Add half of the tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumbers, onions, generous pinch of salt and 1/4 cup of olive oil; process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and set aside.
4. Repeat with another batch of bread, vegetables and olive oil.
5. Add some of the remaining sherry vinegar to the pureed soup. Taste and adjust amounts of each to your liking.
7. Chill for at least 3 hours before serving. Enjoy!
As you can see there are few vegetables that better represent the summer months than the tomato. If any of you attempt to make the gazpacho recipe and experience difficulty or success, please email me back with feedback. I would love to hear from you!
