gazpacho
July 16, 2008
If you like this recipe, I am sure you will love these related recipes!
Gazpacho is a happy summertime catharsis. You pluck and chop and possibly puree a bit until your mouth explodes with crunch and flavor and your cheeks burn from so much hot pepper and such an enduring wide grin. It is the easiest thing to do in the world and requires nothing more than a knife and cutting board. It can be different every time—though my version never includes bread. I start with two large tomatoes per person as a base, then add some red, yellow or orange pepper (I have a confession: I absolutely dislike the bitter taste of raw green peppers) plus as many peeled cucumbers
as I see fit. Usually, I leave them seeded. There' s always a red onion somewhere in there, plus heaps of basil, cilantro and a diced super-spicy pepper. Sometimes I add summer squash or zucchini, though not this time. This go-round I put in a shallot sautéed in 
olive oil and a head of olive oil-roasted garlic—yes a whole head when making soup for just two people. In my opinion, you can never overdue the roast garlic as long as it' s been baked long enough to be completely soft and sweet: golden brown through and through and a bit translucent when squeezed from the skin. Often times I just chop like 
a mad woman over my gazpacho bowl and let all of the pieces stew together for an afternoon, swimming in the juice of several hand-mashed tomatoes. This time I pureed the raw tomatoes so that the skins would be liquefied and not distract from the crunch of the other veggies. Then, bit by bit, I added my diced veggies and herbs, stirring as I went. I covered the bowl and let it sit for several hours in the fridge. This soup gets better and better and better—to the brink of spoiling.
The more time all of the ingredients have to get to know each other, the stronger and more subtle the flavor of the entire batch becomes. I served this version with a scramble of sautéed Portobello mushrooms, leeks and a mild, smoked Gouda. Gazpacho is not to be missed: especially as the boughs of tomato plants and squash stems hang heavy in the July heat. It' s as much of a pleasure to eat as it is to make.
