How has it been that, until now, I’ve never eaten or made gazpacho? For some reason the thought of a cold veggie soup just didn’t sound good. But boy, have I missed out!! I made gazpacho for the soup course in my folk’s 10-course anniversary dinner…and I am a convert! It was delish – especially with the addition of salty, crunchy frico. Perfect for a hot summer day!
Serves 4-6
Ingredients
- 21 oz of red, ripe tomatoes (about 6)
- 2 sm red peppers
- 1 cucumber
- 2 scallions
- 1 garlic clove, peeled
- 1/2 c olive oil
- 2 T red wine vinegar
- Water, to thin to preferred consistency
- Salt & Pepper
Put all ingredients into food processor & blend. Add water to make consistency a bit thicker than tomato juice. Chill for at least 1 hr.
Chop reserved vegetables into small pieces.
To serve, ladle into bowls, top with chopped veggies & add 1 piece of frico (see recipe below).
*To Blanch Tomatoes: With a paring knife, cut shallow X into bottom of tomatoes. Bring pot of water to rolling boil. Add tomatoes & boil for 60-90 sec. Immediately drain tomatoes & put into ice water to cool. When cool, use paring knife to remove skins.
To Make Frico:
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
- 1/2 c Parmesan cheese, finely grated
- Pepper
Scoop 1 T of cheese onto prepared baking sheet. Evenly spread cheese out to about 3″ wide & 1″ apart. Sprinkle pepper on top.
Bake until light browned & melted, about 5-6 min. Remove from oven & let cool on baking sheet until crisp.