Sunday, July 13, 2008

Golden Gazpacho

Maybe it's the salmonella scare (how's that for a recipe intro...makes your taste buds tingle, don't it?), but my neighborhood grocery store had a pile of orange and yellow tomatoes this week. It was a surprise for this store, and they were cheap too. Here's some now:

Gazpacho, everyone's favorite cold-served tomato soup, was my first thought for these tomatoes. The soup features cucumber and flecks of cilantro from my garden...did I mention I have a garden? This is perfect food for days when it's too hot to cook, and nothing is easier than opening the refrigerator door and pouring a bowl of chilled, sparkling soup.
Golden Gazpacho
3 cups coarsely chopped yellow tomatoes
1 medium cucumber, peeled
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tbsp. white wine vinegar
1 tbsp. lemon or lime juice
1/4 cup cilantro leaves
1 tsp. salt
Cilantro for garnish
1. Prepare the vegetables - reserve about 1/2 cup of cucumbers, diced at a quarter inch or so. Place all other tomatoes, cucumber, and garlic in blender or food processor, and puree. I like to leave some texture, so you don't need to turn this soup into a glass of V8. But do what you please.
2. Add vinegar, lemon or lime juice, and cilantro, and pulse blender until those ingredients are well combined. Add just a little salt to taste - the flavors here aren't mellowed by cooking at all, so I don't think much salt is terribly necessary.
3. Add remaining cucumbers - I do this to add some crunchy bits to the soup. Chill for at least 3 hours, or overnight. Serve cold, even with an ice cube if you like.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

MIKE! candice and i think you're the next isa. this soup looks fantastic. come visit flagstaff & we will cook (PLEASE!!).

Lisa (Show Me Vegan) said...

Gorgeous. I'm not quite used to the concept of yellow tomatoes yet though, they're somewhat other worldly.