Late Summer Gazpacho

Copyright ©ShulieMadnick
Rosh HaShanah is this coming Friday, but I wished to squeeze in this late summer gazpacho recipe before I start the holiday cooking.

There is no magic or back story to this recipe. Gazpacho is Jonathan's favorite, but I never make it at home.  This summer, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful heirloom tomatoes that started showing up at the farmers market in DC and a roadside farm stand in Northern Virginia.
I reached out on all my social media platforms and received many great tips and recipes for gazpacho. Many were similar, with some variations. I'm not too fond of cream, which is usually added to the United States' restaurant versions. I played with hot pepper and cucumber in several gazpacho batches but decided against them. 

For the toast, my favorite is Italian bread, but you can use any bread. I served it on the side and not the traditional way the where the bread is incorporated into the soup.

The photos are an exercise in hard shadows. I am using a tomato on the vine for the image since I used up the heirloom tomatoes in the soup.

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

3 large heirloom tomatoes
2  small/medium garlic cloves
1  medium red onion, peeled and cut into large chunks
1 large red bell peppers (roasted and peeled see How to Roast Bell Peppers on my site)
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 round teaspoon mustard
1/2-1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper or black pepper

Toasted Bread

Ingredients:

Few slices Italian bread
Olive oil for brushing
Salt

Directions:

Boil water and take off the heat. Score (crisscross with a knife at the bottom) tomatoes and with a large skimmer spatula (round with holes) gently drop in hot water—Fish the tomatoes out of the water after 1-2 minutes into a large bowl. Let cool and peel off the skin. With a knife, take out the hard stem. Cut into large pieces and add to a food processor or a blender. Add the rest of the ingredients and puree or liquify. Taste and adjust for salt if necessary. Cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours or overnight.

Before serving:

Brush bread on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with a little bit of salt. Toast for several minutes, flip and toast until golden on both sides. Serve with the chilled gazpacho.

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