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After 2 excellent weeks in Amsterdam, I am back in NYC. Jet lag and time disorientation helped me get up early and head straight to the Union Square farmers market…and it was beautiful! I was inspired to make a big batch of gazpacho to have handy for the week…
Gazpacho
6 ripe tomatoes
1 medium cucumber, peeled and seeded
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow bell pepper, finely diced
2-3 Tbs. sherry vinegar
3 Tbs. red onion, chopped fine (optional)
1 cup good quality tomato juice
drizzle extra virgin olive oil
salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
Core the tomatoes then cut in half. Squeeze the tomatoes over a bowl, removing the seeds and extracting some juice. Put the tomatoes in a food processor or blender and then strain the juice onto the tomatoes. Discard the seeds.
Puree the tomatoes until almost smooth, but still leaving some larger pieces. Pour into a large bowl or pitcher. Place the cucumbers in the same blender and puree until almost smooth but still leaving a few larger pieces. Pour in to same bowl with tomatoes then stir in the chopped yellow and red peppers, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper.
Measure out 1/2 of the mixture and place in a blender. Puree until smooth then pour back in to large bowl with remaining soup. Stir in the tomato juice and red onion and adjust seasonings to taste.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours for best taste.
To serve, ladle about 1 cup into a small bowl then garnish with a drizzle of good extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of salt and cracked black pepper.
*Also can garnish with finely chopped cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, red onion, or the classic croutons.
Chef On The Move is a place to share my recipes, cooking demos and techniques, travel and adventure tips and all things related to good food from the source, good times and good living. My many years of cooking jobs in the restaurants, homes, test kitchens and TV studios in San Francisco, Italy, and in New York with Bobby Flay, the renown chef Eric Ripert, and currently with Martha Stewart, have given me a broad and diverse range of food knowledge. Here I combine my professional experience with my life-long incurable habit of leaving my home for adventure, travel, and the search for great food.
