eatwell farm: recipes

Recipes

Gazpacho #2

Gazpacho is a hard one to pin down, basically as there is no one cut & dried version. As Joanne Weir says in her excellent cookbook From Tapas to Meze, “In Spain, there are over thirty varieties of gazpacho, all containing soaked bread. The dish originally came to Andalusia via the Romans, who made it with garlic, bread, olive oil, water, and salt. When Columbus returned to Spain from the New World, he brought with him the tomato and pepper. With these new ingredients, the face of gazpacho changed and became more rosy.” Herewith, her recipe...

2 1/2 lbs tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped, juice reserved
1 pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 med red onion, coarsely chopped
1 lg cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded, and coarsely chopped
5-6 TB red wine vinegar
3 lg garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 cups tomato juice
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 slice bread, crusts removed, soaked in water and squeezed dry
salt & freshly ground pepper
GARNISH
1 TB olive oil
1 TB butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
6 slices bread, crusts off, cut in small cubes
1/4 cup diced pepper
1/2 tomato, diced
1/4 cup diced red onion

In a bowl, mix tomatoes, pepper, onions, cucumber, vinegar, garlic, tomato juice, olive oil, and bread. Put the mixture in batches in a blender and blend on high speed for 3-4 minutes, until very smooth. Strain through a coarse strainer. Season with salt, pepper, and vinegar as needed. Chill. Heat olive oil and butter in a skillet. Add the crushed garlic and cook until garlic is golden brown, about 4-5 minutes. Remove garlic and discard. Saute slowly, stirring occasionally, for 20-30 mins, until bread cubes are golden. Cool.

Serve with croutons and other garnishes.