The Daily Grind, Chop and Fry

I’ve been making the man I love happy with Gazpacho for 20-ish years. It’s great that he loves it, because I do, too.

Bright-tasting, incredibly fresh and cool, a happy red with little pools of olive oil floating on top – what is not to love? I’ve made the same recipe almost every August for two decades, and decided that was silly. This one really tempted me. It hit the mark, and its unexpected color was an extra treat.

Gazpacho from Tapas: A Taste of Spain in America by José Andrés, Clarkson Potter

For the gazpacho:
2 pounds ripe green heirloom tomatoes, or  green unripened tomatoes
8 ounces cucumber (about 1 cucumber)
3 ounces green pepper (about 1/2 bell pepper)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 garlic clove, peeled
3/4 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste

For the garnish:
1 tablespoon Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
1 slice rustic white bread
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 pearl onions, pulled apart into segments
2 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Sea salt to taste
4 chives, cut into 1-inch long pieces

1. Cut out and discard the core at the top of the tomatoes, and chop the tomatoes roughly into quarters. Place in the blender.

2. Peel and seed the cucumber and cut into chunks. Add to the tomatoes in the blender. Cut the pepper in half, and remove the core along with the seeds. Again, chop into large pieces and place in the blender.

3. Add the garlic and sherry vinegar to thevegetables and blend until the mixture becomes a thick liquid. Taste for acidity. This will vary with the sweetness of the tomatoes. If it’s not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil and season with salt to taste. Re-blend, then pour the gazpacho through a strainer into a pitcher. Place in the fridge to cool for at least half an hour.

4. While the gazpacho is chilling, prepare the garnish. In a small pan, heat the olive oil over a medium-high flame and fry the bread until golden, about 2 minutes. Break into small pieces to form croutons and set aside.

5. To serve, place a few pieces of each garnish on the surface of the soup. Drizzle a few drops of olive oil on top of each bowl. Serve well chilled.