Gazpacho Made Easy

When temperatures start to hit the 80s the last thing I want to do is cook.  So I always turn to gazpacho, the chilled Spanish soup the sings of summer.  Here’s a video to show you just how easy gazpacho is to make.

  Gazpacho

The following recipe is a combination of quite a few recipes that I’ve tried.  I like Persian cucumbers because they have more bulk to them.  You can use red tomatoes, yellow tomatoes, so long as they are ripe.

• 2 lbs tomatoes (about 5 large tomatoes)
• 3 Persian cucumbers peeled
• 1 jalapeno or Serrano pepper without seeds for mild, with for a bit more zing
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 red onion peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2-4 tablespoons of red wine vinegar depending on the sweetness of the tomatoes
• 1/4-1/3 cup of olive oil
• 1/4 cup of cilantro

1. Fill a large pot with water and bring to a boil.
2. Fill bowl large enough to hold the tomatoes with ice water
3. Place tomatoes in boiling water for 30 –45 seconds
4. Plunge tomatoes into ice bath and cool.
5. Coarsely chop the cucumbers, garlic, your choice of pepper, onions
6. When tomatoes are cool. Slide off tomato skins, core and coarsely chop. Keep the cool water in case you need to thin out the soup.
7. Add half of all ingredients to a blender and puree until smooth.  If the mixture is too thick add some of the ice bath water.
8. Pour into clean bowl.
9. Add vinegar, olive oil, salt and pepper according to your taste.  Chill.
10. Before you serve check the seasonings and texture.  Add more water if needed.
11. Serve.