Heirloom tomato gazpacho
The tomatoes really shine in this recipe, so make sure you’re using the freshest, most flavorful tomatoes you can find.
If you’re only going to eat chocolate occasionally, eat the very best quality chocolate you can find. The same holds true for gazpacho. The quality and flavor of heirloom tomatoes is critical.
While most recipes use tomato juice, this recipe calls for heirloom tomatoes. They come in many colors, from deep purple to bright yellow.
This recipe, modified from Epicurious, recommends squishing the vegetables with your fingers. It may be fun to try it with your hands, but a food processor works best.
The original recipe calls for a red and yellow bell pepper. This recipe uses bottled roasted red peppers. The “heat” can be varied to taste.
The flavors and texture make this a wonderfully complex and tasty offering.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 6 large heirloom tomatoes of all colors, seeded and diced into 1/4 inch pieces (reserve the seeds and liquid)
- 1 red onion, diced 1/4 inch
- 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced 1/4 inch
- 2 roasted red peppers, diced 1/4 inch
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped
- 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
- 1 lemon, juiced
- 1/2 tablespoon hot sauce
- Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 8 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions
- In a bowl, combine the tomatoes, seeds, liquid, onion, cucumber, and peppers.
- Add cilantro, red wine vinegar, lemon juice, and hot sauce.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Use a food processor to blend about 2/3 of the vegetables in batches. It will be a chunky soup.
- Stir in the oil a little at a time, tasting as you go.
- Chill for at least 1 hour. Drizzle about 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar per serving and stir in.
Nutrition information (per serving)
- Calories: 76
- Total fat: 3.5 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Sodium: 114 mg
- Total carbohydrate: 9 g
- Dietary fiber: 2 g
- Total sugars: 6.5 g
- Protein: 1.5 g
- Potassium: 343 mg