Gazpacho
Over the years, I have made dozens of different gazpachos. Once you know the technique and you know what you like, what veggies to use, then the options are endless. Here I share a few recipes that were served at The Kitchen Porch. Gazpacho had an evolution in our kitchen and was served every summer at the West Tisbury Farmers’ Market. In the last years of serving, we called it Gazpacho Da Bomb after some version of Soup du Jour. This meant making the gazpacho with whatever ingredients in the walk-in fridge had to be used up that week. (Just make sure it is delicious!)
The first gazpacho I made was from a chef I knew, Chris Schlesinger, in Cambridge, so long ago. He made a gazpacho with grilled vegetables, and he added a twist: clam juice and a handful of fresh basil. It was heavenly, divine. This is the perfect end-to-summer soup, when zucchinis have been forgotten in the garden and grown too big––grill them up and add them to the tomatoes. Add a pepper, onion, and maybe an eggplant. Blend with fresh garlic and basil and clam juice. This was one of the first of many soups that my kitchen, The Kitchen Porch, made for the farmer’s market way back in the 90s.
The gazpacho evolved with weekly variations depending on what was on hand. There was the pepper gazpacho and the watermelon gazpacho, the grape and cucumber gazpacho. (There always seems to be a new gazpacho that I just fall in love with, and I start all over again. On a recent farm dinner, shots of gazpacho were served with tequila, and that wasn’t too bad either!) So here are three recipes I found from my book of recipes from the kitchen. It was rare that we actually recorded a recipe because it really was a touch of this and a bit of that, because we used up what was on hand!
Grilled Gazpacho Soup with Fresh Basil
Serves 4 to 6
4 pounds ripe tomatoes, cut in half
2 pounds zucchini, depending on the size, sliced into long strips or cut into rounds about ½ inch thick
1 green pepper, seeded and cut in half
1 large onion, peeled and sliced in thirds into rounds so they can lay flat
About a cup of olive oil
Salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
3 garlic cloves
1/8 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
2 cups clam broth (substitute veggie broth or chicken stock)
⅛ cup lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions:
Rub the vegetables lightly with oil, salt, and pepper to taste, and place them on a grill with a low-medium flame. Each vegetable will take slightly longer to cook. The point is to have flavor from the grill and to have everything lightly cooked. Grill the tomatoes just to a nice caramel color, not so they are falling apart––about 5 minutes.
The onions can be soft and lightly brown, 5–7 minutes.
The zucchini, lightly brown and firm, about 8–10 minutes.
The pepper medium-soft, about 10 minutes.
Remove from the grill, and chop the grilled onions and tomatoes coarsely.
Depending on how you like gazpacho, smooth and blended or chunky and country-like, either put the ingredients in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth or hand-chop the ingredients and add the liquid.
Add the minced garlic, vinegar, honey, and 2 cups of the broth.
Cover and chill the mixture completely.
Finish by adding the lemon juice, balsamic vinegar, and basil.
Season with salt and pepper to taste, and serve chilled or at room temperature. At The Kitchen Porch, we served this with Wild Rice Seafood Salad.
Tomato and Watermelon Gazpacho
6 large tomatoes
3 serrano chilies
6 cups fresh watermelon
4 teaspoons red wine vinegar or to taste
3/4 cup olive oil
½ small red onion, minced––about 8 tablespoons
3 medium cucumbers
3–6 tablespoons dill
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
In a blender, puree the tomatoes, chilies, and watermelon.
Add the red wine vinegar & olive oil. Pulse.
Add the onions, cucumber, and dill.
Season with salt and pepper and puree until smooth.
Red Pepper and Tomato Gazpacho
Serves 6
2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, cored and roughly cut into chunks1
red pepper, cored, seeded, cut into 6-8 pieces
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
1 small mild onion, peeled, cut into 6-8 pieces
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, more to taste
¾ cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Directions:Put all vegetables in a blender. Blend at high speed until very smooth, 1–2 minutes, depending on the type of blender.
Add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons of salt while the motor is running.
Then slowly drizzle in the olive oil and continue to blend to a nice smooth, glistening consistency.
Chill for at least 2 hours.
Serve with a chopped cucumber and parsley on top and a drizzle of olive oil.
Gaspacho aka Arjamolho from Hugo Ferreira of Sao Miquel
About 1 pound ripe tomato (chopped into cubes––about 2.5 cups)
Flor de sal
About 2.5 cups sourdough bread
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
One small onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons oregano
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
½ cup water
Directions:
Season the tomato cubes with flor de sal.
Slice the onions and garlic and combine with the tomatoes.
Add vinegar and toss.
Slice the bread very thin and place the slices on plates.
Pile the tomato, garlic, and onion mixture on top of the bread. Cover with water.
Allow to rest 30–45 minutes and chill.
Sprinkle with fresh oregano and flor de sal and finish with olive oil. We are very generous with our olive oil.