It won’t be long now! A few days ago I picked some with barely a blush, as I was having a pest issues, and they were ripe a day or to later, and others are blushing as we “speak”.
4 Likes
We’ve made several batches so far. We have our “tomato man” outside of Lodi, CA, en route to the country. Excellent beefsteak tomatoes.
I am confused by the pale orange color of several of the featured gaspachos here. The attached recipes don’t seem to include that color unless one is using mostly yellow tomatoes.
And we would never sieve. For perfectly smooth gaspacho, just leave in the blender longer. And/or keep some chopped veg separately for garnish. We usually make it smooth and serve it in chilled stoneware goblets.
For super refined version, I remember an essence of gaspacho, where finished gaspacho was drained through a coffee filter, resulting in a concentrated flavored clear liquid. Lovely but certainly not traditional.
2 Likes
That reminds me of something I make when I’m growing a bit weary of the precious pulp. Not really a recipe; just the water from a tomato with no pulp, and no color.
I couldn’t find it, but I found this.
Gazpacho Andaluz …
The wife of Emperor Napolean III, Eugenia de Montijo of Granada, was responsible for the Andalusian Gazpacho becoming popular in France. Today, tourism has led to this cold tomato soup being made throughout the world.
In 1747, Juan de La Mata, documented in El Arte de Respostería, the most common Gazpacho known as CAPON DE GALERA, which is still made at home as follows:
100 Grams of stale day old bread (baguette)
ONE KILO of RED ripe tomatoes PEELED & DE-SEEDED
1 capsicum green bell pepper (100 grams)
2 cloves of garlic chopped finely
60 ml. white wine vinegar
155 ml. Extra virgin olive oil español
2 tsps of salt
We soak the bread in 155 ml. cold water and squeeze out the excess liquid.
Then, we crush the bread and all the other ingredients in a large Mortar, then drizzle the Evoo very very slowly, combining until a smooth consistency.
IF USING A FOOD PROCESSOR, PUT ALL THE INGREDIENTS IN A LARGE BOWL AND BLEND TO A FINE PURÉE.
You probably need to make in 2 or 3 batches. CHECK the seasoning and pour into a large bowl and cover and chill for 2 hours.
Put the garnish as follows: 1 SMALL ONION 125 grams; 1 firm RED ripe tomato de-seeded and peeled; 1 green bell of 60 grams, 60 grams of cucumber PEELED, 1 HARD BOILED EGG SLICED FINELY and 100 grams of day old baguette sliced in crouton size – IF SERVING IN A BOWL.
SERVE THE GAZPACHO IN A MARTINI STYLED STEMWARE FOR DRINKING.
ANOTHER HISTORIC VERSION:
AJO BLANCO CON UVAS (Chilled almond and garlic soup with grapes):
Almond flavoured ajo blanco comes from Málaga, and is normally served with fresh Muscat grapes, peeled and de-seeded.
250 GRAMS ALMONDS
155GRAMS BAGUETTE - DAY OLD BREAD
2 CLOVES GARLIC FINELY SLICED
SALT
155 ML. EVOO - SPANISH
1 TABLESPOON OF SHERRY VINEGAR
4 CURPS OF VERY COLD WATER
500 GRAMS OF WHITE MUSCAT GRAPES PEELED AND DE-SEEDED
Blanch the almonds for 2 minutes in boiling water to loosen skins. Drain and rub the loose skins off with a tea towel.
Soak the bread in a small amount of water.
Crush the almonds, bread, garlic and salt in a large mortar. Mix thorougly with the pestle and gradually drizzle the oil to form a spongy paste. Mix in the sherry vinegar and then add the cold water.
Transfer to the refrigerator and just before serving check salt and vinegar to taste and then add the grapes and served VERY WELL CHILLED.
To conclude: ALVALLE is made for EXPORT ONLY … Those purchasing are purchasing a product made for “foreign palates” …
2 Likes
I’ve sieved and not and the texture of the former is just superior IMHO. And this from someone who’s all about reducing effort and clean-up.
1 Like
I will try sieving, CM. You may have opened a new window for us. Who knows?
1 Like
Add a drizzle of good olive oil and a splash of sherry (as in the José Andres recipe I think I posted upthread), and you’ll be in heaven!
3 Likes
Our recipe: peeled ripest tomatoes, peeled cucumber, fire-grilled and peeled green pepper, sweet onion blitzed in blender; ice water, EVOO and La Bodega brand sherry vinegar blended in. Smooth as velvet with some veg body.
3 Likes
Since you are peeling the veg, sieving may not do much. Am guessing you also seed the cucumber? The tomato seeds are a good source of umami,so you wouldn’t want to skip those, but the sieving takes care of the grainy texture.
2 Likes
Andres’ recipe calls for:
Blended and sieved -
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup oloroso sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, quartered
1 English cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and chopped
2 garlic cloves
Garnish -
1 cup rustic whole-wheat bread, sliced into 1-in. cubes (pan-toasted)
1/4 cup diced English cucumber
6 multicolored cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 Likes
I have to say, it didn’t sit right, but sieveing matters. I also look for no bread options, and try to balance ease and longevity. I will put more time in to prep if it lasts more than a day or two.
I have no cucumbers, so I checked this out.
I do have a “cho cho” (chayote), but that would be a huge stretch.
I really like to garnish my gazpacho with some natto.
1 Like
Ours has kept a week in the fridge.
1 Like
I’m a natto novice and I’ve been figuring out ways I can use it. This is definitely intriguing. So, you’re basically using it as an umami element for gazpacho (not my favorite type of soup since I like my soups to be scalding hot, even in steamy hot weather).
I like the idea of adding the olive oil after straining.
1 Like
Yes, precisely.
It provides a nice contrast. A bit of “meaty” flavor and some needed umami to what otherwise can be often a one-note, citrus-y dish, gazpacho.
2 Likes
This is fairly close to what i use in my gazpacho. I don’t really recall if it was in fact a Jose Andres recipe though. The one difference is I like a bit of red onion in mine for a little extra kick, and i think I’m usually close to 3-4 cloves of garlic. I never remove the seeds from my tomatoes before hand, as I’m in the minority where I like a slight bit of chunk (not salsa level) to my gazpacho.
I usually eat plain, but on occasion, I will put a few slim slices of avocado on top.
3 Likes
I use white balsamic in soups that call for vinegar.
2 Likes
I just noticed this in the NYT link.,
“This version has no bread and is a creamy orange-pink rather than a lipstick red. That is because a large quantity of olive oil is required for making delicious gazpacho, rather than take-it-or-leave it gazpacho. The emulsion of red tomato juice, palest green cucumber juice and golden olive oil produces the right color and a smooth, almost fluffy texture”
3 Likes
