I wait all year for fig season and then it comes and goes without me taking advantage of it. I think I bought figs once in July and that was it. At the beginning of September, there should be a few figs left, and so I got my grocery list prepared for Fig & Walnut Salad (a lady-meal to compliment last weekend’s man-meal), only to find that I couldn’t find any figs.
The BBF swears he has a fig tree outside his front door and that I will be able to pick some fruit in the near future. We’ll see. I’m skeptical.
The same day all my fig plans fell through, my office-mate Cheryl brought me some red and yellow bell peppers. (Cheryl is also the office-mate who gave me this beautiful clay pie pan – the perks of having a food blog!) There was also a farm-stand outside of work that day, so I decided to buy some tomatoes and have a go at gazpacho (rhyme intended).
I’ve never made nor tasted gazpacho before. Cold soup is weird, right? Then I read the recipe. You mix in breadcrumbs. That’s weird too. Weird, but as it turns out, pretty tasty too!
Classic Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 2 lbs or 6 medium tomatoes peeled and seeded
- 1 cucumber peeled and chopped
- 2 red bell peppers seeded and chopped
- 2 garlic cloves crushed
- 1 large onion chopped
- 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 4 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
- 2 cups cold water
- salt and ground black pepper
- ice cubes to garnish
- avocado sliced, to garnish
Instructions
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In a large bowl, mix the tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, garlic, and onion. Stir in the vinegar, oil, breadcrumbs, and water until well mixed.
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Purée the mixture in a food processor or blender until almost smoth and pour into a large bowl. If the soup is too thick, add cold water to desired consistency. Stir in salt and pepper to taste. Chill.
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To serve, ladle into bowls, drop in two ice cubes, top with avocado slices or other garnish of choice.
What I did differently: I used a yellow bell pepper, hence the light color of my gazpacho. I chose avocado as my garnish, but you could easily set aside some chopped tomato, onion, or bell pepper to use on top. Croutons or fresh herbs would be good too. Make it yours!
My rating: 4.5/5 stars. I understand now why this is a summer dish. There’s no way it could be as good made out of season. You can taste each vegetable individually. The cucumber gives it a fresh flavor without overpowering the other vegetables. I used awesome tomatoes, Cherokee Purple and German Johnson, which are both types of heirlooms. I didn’t salt, pepper or otherwise flavor my soup – and I can’t get over how amazing it tastes anyway.
The BBF’s rating: He will taste it tonight! I brought most of it to my parent’s house and Mom “oohed” and “ahhed” over it as a mom is required to do. 🙂
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