{soups-salads-and-salad-dressings} Andalusian Gazpacho

Andalusian Gazpacho

Dallas lawyer Shannon Stapp takes her salad straight up: It's Andalusian
Gazpacho, gleaned from travels with her husband, Josh.
"It's fresh, it's light and it's packed with flavor," she says, "and I
love that fact that you can serve it as a Spaniard and drink it out of a
glass." She also loves the fact that her 1-year-old son likes it.
"I think the key is good sherry vinegar," she says, singling out Cepa
Vieja from tienda.com. "It has the perfect amount of acidity and makes
the garlic and cucumber pop and adds roundness with the olive oil." The
gazpacho, she says, "really is a salad in a blender."

3 pounds ripe Roma or fresh in-season tomatoes
1 large green or red bell pepper, destemmed, with seeds removed
1 large peeled cucumber
2 cloves fresh garlic
3 tablespoons good-quality Spanish sherry vinegar
1/2 to 1 tablespoon salt (to taste)
About 1/2 cup good-quality Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra
for garnish
Brunoise of red bell pepper and cucumber (optional, see Note)

Quarter the tomatoes and bell pepper.
Chop the cucumber in half lengthwise, then quarter.
Peel the garlic cloves and quarter.
Do not chop.

Put a third of each ingredient (except the brunoise garnish) in a
blender or food processor.
Blend thoroughly.
Pour contents through a fine-mesh sieve (that allows liquid only to
pass) into a large bowl.
Press the leftover contents in the sieve with a spatula to get all the
juices out.
Discard the skins and pieces.
Repeat with the remaining two thirds in separate batches until
everything is blended.

Run the gazpacho through the blender again, in batches, adding salt and
olive oil if needed.
The consistency should be slightly thick and velvety.
Place the gazpacho in a large bowl or pitcher and seal with plastic wrap
or a lid.
Let flavors blend for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator.
May be stored refrigerated 7 to 10 days.

Serve in small beer glasses or wine glasses.
For a festive touch, add a swirl of olive oil on top along with the
brunoise of red bell pepper and cucumber and sea salt.

Makes 6 servings.

Note: Brunoise is a tiny dice made by cutting the vegetables first into
matchsticks, then turning and cutting into dice.

PER SERVING :

Calories 235 (78% fat), Fat 21 g (3 g sat), No cholesterol, Sodium 1,029
mg,
Fiber 4 g, Carbohydrates 12 g, Protein 3 g

Source : The Dallas Morning News Recipe Of The Day Mailer


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