Gazpacho in a Pitcher
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: --
Total time: 15 minutes
Yield: Makes 4 cocktail servings
This is the real thing, straight from Spain and translated for us by the ever-diligent David Rosengarten . For the best results, puree the vegetables in a Vita-Mix and strain through an Anolon cone strainer. If a Vita-Mix and Anolon strainer are not in your cupboard, it is delicious simply whirred in a food processor or blender.
Ingredients
- 2 ounces stale Italian or French bread, with crust
- 1/2 lb. ripe tomatoes, stems removed
- 1/4 lb. Vidalia onion
- 1/4 lb. cucumber
- 1/4 lb. green bell pepper
- 1/4 lb. red bell pepper
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon vinegar de Jerez
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Instructions
- 1. Break the bread into large chunks, place chunks in a bowl, and cover with cold water (about 1 1/2 cups). Soak until the bread is fairly soft, but not mushy, about 1-2 minutes. Squeeze the water out of the bread with your hands, and place bread in the container of the Vita-Mix.
- 2. Cut the tomatoes in quarters, and scoop out the seeds with your fingers. Discard seeds. Cut tomatoes in large cubes (you should have about 1 1/2 cups), and add to container.
- 3. Peel the onion, and cut into large dice (you should have about 1 cup). Add onion to container.
- 4. Peel the cucumber and cut in half the long way. Scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon, and discard seeds. Cut cucumber into large dice (you should have about 2/3 cup), and add to container.
- 5. Remove the stems and seeds from the green bell pepper and the red bell pepper. Cut each into large dice (you should have about 1 cup of diced green pepper, and about 1 cup of diced red pepper). Add cut peppers to the container.
- 6. Add olive oil and sherry vinegar. Turn Vita-Mix on at low speed, then ratchet up to high. Blend on high until the mixture is very smooth and velvety, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, then blend on high for a few seconds more.
- 7. Pour the gazpacho through the Analon Cone Strainer into glasses, or into a pitcher. Push gazpacho through the strainer with a spatula or wooden spoon. But it is important that you do not force through every last drop; leave the last bits of bready sediment behind in the strainer. Discard periodically. And don't scrape the gazpacho film that's on the bottom of the strainer into the finished gazpacho; simply clean your strainer under cold running water every few minutes, washing off the gazpacho film into the sink.
About The Show
In 1994, acclaimed food writer and cooking teacher Lynne Rossetto Kasper was receiving accolades for her debut book, The Splendid Table, which at that time was the only book to have won both the James Beard and Julia Child Cookbook of the Year awards. Among the many people enchanted by the book was producer and foodie Sally Swift, who thought the time could be right for a radio program on food.
