Gazpacho
Gazpacho seems like such an easy dish to prepare, but it is tricky to get right. As this dish has become popular in America, finding a place everywhere from restaurant summer menus to grab-and-go sandwich shops, its origins have all but vanished. I have encountered every rendition of gazpacho from a tomato-based cold soup to a spice-based smoothie. I have tasted an amuse-bouche of white grape gazpacho at a Victorian lunch room and scarfed a paper cupful of robust pepper gazpacho at a state fair.
My favorite description of gazpacho is “liquid salad,” which is simultaneously amusing and accurate, as the signature of gazpacho as we now know it is a mixture of fresh vegetables served as a soup. The dish originated in the Spanish region of Andalusia, probably during the Middle Ages, as a soup known as ajo blanco, in which garlic, almonds and bread were mixed together in a mortar and pestle to form a paste. Vinegar and olive oil were added to the garlic-almond mixture to become a pebbly puree. It was this technique and these base ingredients that evolved into what we recognize as gazpacho today. The three most recognizable ingredients of modern gazpacho – tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, sieved or milled to remove the seeds and pith – are relative late-comers to the dish.
Gazpacho is the ideal summer dish. The vegetables are at the peak of their freshness, mingling to create a dish that, in a season when it can be as much a chore to forage as it is to walk across a humid parking lot, is a pleasure to eat. For cooks, making the dish is itself a pleasure: though it may seem labor-intensive, the act of peeling and chopping vegetables, and mixing them with care, is as contemplative as it is active. As refreshing as gazpacho is to eat, it is as much -- perhaps even moreso -- to prepare.
Here is my recipe for gazpacho. Like most such, it is an interpretation; this one executed with a southwestern touch. In our urban home, we like chunky gazpacho, but don’t want to sacrifice the dish’s distinctive velvety texture. Since ingredients such as finely diced onion are often served as a garnish for gazpacho, in this version, some of the prepared vegetables are processed together with day old bread to form a smooth base to which the remaining chunky vegetables are added, resulting in a lively interplay of textures. To amp up the flavor, I sneak a hit of hot pepper into my gazpacho for a pleasant – and, as the dish has evolved, expected – heat at the back of the throat. I also include fresh cilantro -- feel free to omit it if it’s too inauthentic for you, or if you don’t eat cilantro.
GAZPACHO
Use the freshest ingredients to make gazpacho. If you’re not using produce from your own garden, buy organic whenever possible, and be sure to clean vegetables when necessary with a commercial fruit and vegetable wash. An in-sink colander is very useful in the kitchen; here is a good one
.
2 medium cucumbers
2 red bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
1 medium red onion
3 medium ripe tomatoes
4 medium cloves garlic
1 small jalapeno pepper
1 piece stale white sandwich bread
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 small bunch cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Set a colander large enough to hold the vegetables near your preparation space.
2. Rinse the cilantro (you will only be using the leaf end) and set aside to drain on a double layer of paper toweling.
3. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut across the quarters to form dice. Scrape the diced onion into the colander.
4. Peel each cucumber; discard peel and cut each cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scrape away and discard the pith and seeds. Cut each half into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced cucumber into the colander.
5. Cut each bell pepper in half from cap to bottom. Cut away and discard the stem; cut away and discard any white pith from inside each half. Rinse each half under cool water to remove the seeds; if you wish, set aside some seeds for planting. Cut off the rounded top and bottom of each halved pepper and set aside for another use. Flatten the remaining pepper, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut each flattened half into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced pepper into the colander.
6. Wearing a clean pair of food-safe gloves, chop the stem end off the jalapeno and then slice in half lengthwise. Remove the pith and seeds and flatten each half; set one half aside for another use. Flatten the remaining half, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut the flattened jalapeno into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced jalapeño into the colander.
7. Still wearing the gloves, add the cayenne pepper to the vegetables in the colander. Use your hands to mix the vegetables and the cayenne.
8. Still wearing the gloves, remove the stem end from each tomato. Cut each tomato in half from bottom to top, moving in a full circle from the stem end around the tomato to the bottom and back up to the stem end. Halve each half to form quarters; halve each quarter to form eighths. Place each eighth on the cutting board skin side down; cut across to form chunks. Scrape the chunked tomatoes into a bowl large enough to hold them.
9. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt. Still wearing the gloves, use your hands to combine.
10. Crumble the slice of bread into the work bowl of a blender or food processor. Process into fine crumbs.
11. Still wearing the gloves, add two handfuls of the pepper-onion-cucumber mixture to the bread in the work bowl. Add two handfuls of the chunked tomatoes to the work bowl.
12. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press each half through a garlic press into the work bowl.
13. Chop the leaf ends of the cleaned cilantro to equal about 1/4 cup packed loosely. Scrape into the work bowl.
14. Pulse until the mixture in the work bowl is smooth but pebbly. Scrape the puree into the serving bowl.
15. Pour the olive oil in a thin stream into the puree, whisking to incorporate.
16. Add the sherry vinegar to the puree; whisk to incorporate.
17. Add the diced vegetables and the reserved chunked tomatoes with any collected juices to the puree. Still wearing the gloves, toss the ingredients together.
18. Refrigerate 2 hours. Before serving, sprinkle each serving with freshly ground black pepper.
My favorite description of gazpacho is “liquid salad,” which is simultaneously amusing and accurate, as the signature of gazpacho as we now know it is a mixture of fresh vegetables served as a soup. The dish originated in the Spanish region of Andalusia, probably during the Middle Ages, as a soup known as ajo blanco, in which garlic, almonds and bread were mixed together in a mortar and pestle to form a paste. Vinegar and olive oil were added to the garlic-almond mixture to become a pebbly puree. It was this technique and these base ingredients that evolved into what we recognize as gazpacho today. The three most recognizable ingredients of modern gazpacho – tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers, sieved or milled to remove the seeds and pith – are relative late-comers to the dish.
Gazpacho is the ideal summer dish. The vegetables are at the peak of their freshness, mingling to create a dish that, in a season when it can be as much a chore to forage as it is to walk across a humid parking lot, is a pleasure to eat. For cooks, making the dish is itself a pleasure: though it may seem labor-intensive, the act of peeling and chopping vegetables, and mixing them with care, is as contemplative as it is active. As refreshing as gazpacho is to eat, it is as much -- perhaps even moreso -- to prepare.
Here is my recipe for gazpacho. Like most such, it is an interpretation; this one executed with a southwestern touch. In our urban home, we like chunky gazpacho, but don’t want to sacrifice the dish’s distinctive velvety texture. Since ingredients such as finely diced onion are often served as a garnish for gazpacho, in this version, some of the prepared vegetables are processed together with day old bread to form a smooth base to which the remaining chunky vegetables are added, resulting in a lively interplay of textures. To amp up the flavor, I sneak a hit of hot pepper into my gazpacho for a pleasant – and, as the dish has evolved, expected – heat at the back of the throat. I also include fresh cilantro -- feel free to omit it if it’s too inauthentic for you, or if you don’t eat cilantro.
GAZPACHO
Use the freshest ingredients to make gazpacho. If you’re not using produce from your own garden, buy organic whenever possible, and be sure to clean vegetables when necessary with a commercial fruit and vegetable wash. An in-sink colander is very useful in the kitchen; here is a good one
.2 medium cucumbers
2 red bell peppers
1 green bell pepper
1 medium red onion
3 medium ripe tomatoes
4 medium cloves garlic
1 small jalapeno pepper
1 piece stale white sandwich bread
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 small bunch cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1. Set a colander large enough to hold the vegetables near your preparation space.
2. Rinse the cilantro (you will only be using the leaf end) and set aside to drain on a double layer of paper toweling.
3. Peel the onion and remove the root and stem ends. Halve the onion from root to stem; halve each half. Cut across the quarters to form dice. Scrape the diced onion into the colander.
4. Peel each cucumber; discard peel and cut each cucumber in half lengthwise. Use a teaspoon to scrape away and discard the pith and seeds. Cut each half into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced cucumber into the colander.
5. Cut each bell pepper in half from cap to bottom. Cut away and discard the stem; cut away and discard any white pith from inside each half. Rinse each half under cool water to remove the seeds; if you wish, set aside some seeds for planting. Cut off the rounded top and bottom of each halved pepper and set aside for another use. Flatten the remaining pepper, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut each flattened half into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced pepper into the colander.
6. Wearing a clean pair of food-safe gloves, chop the stem end off the jalapeno and then slice in half lengthwise. Remove the pith and seeds and flatten each half; set one half aside for another use. Flatten the remaining half, skin side down, against the cutting board. Cut the flattened jalapeno into strips and cut across the strips to form dice. Scrape the diced jalapeño into the colander.
7. Still wearing the gloves, add the cayenne pepper to the vegetables in the colander. Use your hands to mix the vegetables and the cayenne.
8. Still wearing the gloves, remove the stem end from each tomato. Cut each tomato in half from bottom to top, moving in a full circle from the stem end around the tomato to the bottom and back up to the stem end. Halve each half to form quarters; halve each quarter to form eighths. Place each eighth on the cutting board skin side down; cut across to form chunks. Scrape the chunked tomatoes into a bowl large enough to hold them.
9. Sprinkle the tomatoes with the salt. Still wearing the gloves, use your hands to combine.
10. Crumble the slice of bread into the work bowl of a blender or food processor. Process into fine crumbs.
11. Still wearing the gloves, add two handfuls of the pepper-onion-cucumber mixture to the bread in the work bowl. Add two handfuls of the chunked tomatoes to the work bowl.
12. Peel the garlic and remove the root end. Half each clove; remove and discard any sprouting from the center. Press each half through a garlic press into the work bowl.
13. Chop the leaf ends of the cleaned cilantro to equal about 1/4 cup packed loosely. Scrape into the work bowl.
14. Pulse until the mixture in the work bowl is smooth but pebbly. Scrape the puree into the serving bowl.
15. Pour the olive oil in a thin stream into the puree, whisking to incorporate.
16. Add the sherry vinegar to the puree; whisk to incorporate.
17. Add the diced vegetables and the reserved chunked tomatoes with any collected juices to the puree. Still wearing the gloves, toss the ingredients together.
18. Refrigerate 2 hours. Before serving, sprinkle each serving with freshly ground black pepper.
My mom made the best gazpacho when we lived in Spain, but has since lost the recipe. She made the tomato base, then served it alongside bowls of diced fresh, crunchy vegetables like cucumber, pepper and more tomato. There was also a dish of herbed croutons for added crunch. We loved it! The inclusion of the diced vegetables was a strange experience when we got back to the States, but, if I can find a good gazpacho, I don't mind it. Thank you for the trip down memory lane! Oh, for the summer days when there was always a pitcher of gazpacho in the refrigerator . . .
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful way to grow up! I'm not sure any dish says "summer" so much as gazpacho does.
ReplyDelete