Gazpacho

Hot. Humid. Availability of fresh, local vegetables. Yup. Perfect conditions for gazpacho.

As you may be aware, tomatoes are best served fresh from the vine at the height of summer, because they taste like – brace yourself – tomatoes! Sweet, juicy, luscious tomatoes. Freshly picked summertime tomatoes are completely different from the crimson, grainy guys found in supermarkets. Fresh local tomatoes have that deep, almost gleeful magenta color throughout the fruit and a happy-go-lucky sweetness too. They’re just joyous little beings, like doughnuts ready to be snacked.

Fortunately, it is now the height of summer. If you have a garden, great. I advise that you check for plump red tomatoes. Go now. I’ll wait. If not, perhaps you live in an urban area, make friends with the nearest neighbor with an urban garden or one of those upside-down hanging tomato planters. Do what you need to do in order to get in on freshly picked perfectly ripe tomatoes while their hot – or still warm from the afternoon sun.

Gazpacho is a great way to showcase the sweetness of fresh tomatoes. I also used fresh local cipollini onions, garlic, green peppers and a cucumber, all of which were generously bestowed upon us by a friend whose cup runneth over with CSA produce. Always happy to help a fellow locavore, we gladly accepted the veggies. Thank you, if you are reading this!

Some like to blend gazpacho. I do not. Because a blended soup is a wonderful, light treat. A cold soup is a wonderful, refreshing treat. A blended cold soup is a cold vegetable smoothie eaten with a spoon. Not my idea of a fabulously satisfying meal. If it is going to be served chilled, the least it can do is provide a little tooth.

Tomatoes contain plenty of vitamin C, vitamin K and lycopene. Onions and garlic – originally consumed for medicinal purposes – also contain vitamin C and are said to offer antibacterial and cardiovascular benefits. Despite the heavy glug of olive oil in this recipe and the bread, I consider gazpacho to be a supremely light. Refreshing, light and nutritious – the perfect food for summer.

Gazpacho - serves 2 – 4

4 fresh medium tomatoes
1 green bell pepper
1 clove garlic
1 cipollini onion (small to medium in size)
1 t ground cumin
1 t balsamic vinegar
1/4 C olive oil
1/4 C water
3/4 C cubed baguette
1/2 t salt

Finely dice all of the vegetables. Combine in a large, non-reactive bowl. Add cumin, vinegar, olive oil, bread, and salt. Salt is important because it will draw the liquids out of vegetables to make the  gazpacho more soupy.

Refrigerate for one hour. Using a masher or the back of a slotted spoon, mash the soup until the bread bits are broken up and the juices are rendered from the vegetables.

Serve cold.