Gazpacho Anne Burrell Recipes

GAZPACHO WITH GARLIC CROUTONS

Steps:

• For the soup: In a large bowl combine the tomatoes, garlic and the coarsely chopped cucumbers, peppers and onions. Toss the veggies together. Using a blender or food processor in batches, puree the veggies with 1/2 cup of tomato juice in each batch until smooth. Season each batch with salt. Continue until all the veggies are pureed. If you have any tomato juice left, toss it into the mix, if not YAY!
• Add the olive oil, sherry vinegar and hot sauce to the puree and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt if needed (it will.) If the soup is a bit too vinegary add another pinch of salt (it offsets the acid). Stir, taste again and re-season if needed. Cover and refrigerate until the soup is cold, at least 1 hour.
• For the garlic croutons: Add the olive oil to a large saute pan. With the side of a large knife, smash the garlic cloves to break them. You should be able to smell the garlic....YUM!!! Add the smashed garlic cloves to the pan and bring it to medium heat. Cook the garlic until it is golden and very aromatic, 3 to 5 minutes, then remove it from the pan and ditch it. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the diced bread to the garlic-perfumed oil and cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes. Season with salt. Remove from the heat and reserve.
• To serve: Remove the soup from the fridge, taste it and adjust the seasoning if needed. (When things are cold they taste less, so do not be alarmed if the soup needs a little more salt.) Place the corn, all the finely diced veggies, croutons and sour cream in ramekins or little bowls and allow people to garnish their soup as desired. It's a DIY situation!!!
• Gazzzz-PACH-ooooooooo that's good!!!

BEST GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.
• Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

GAZPACHO (ANNE BURRELL)

Steps:

• Soak the bread, in a medium bowl of water to soften, about 15 to 20 minutes. Squeeze out the excess water and place in a large bowl. Coarsely chop the tomatoes, 2/3 of the cucumber, 1/2 the onion, and 1/2 the pepper and add to the bread. Add the garlic, season with salt, and drizzle with olive oil. Mix to combine and let sit for about 20 to 30 minutes to allow the flavors to marry and to let the salt pull some moisture out of the tomatoes.
• Meanwhile, for the garnish, dice the remaining cucumber, onion and green pepper into perfect 1/4-inch dice and reserve.
• Working in batches, puree the tomato/bread mixture in a blender with the vinegar. Blend in tomato juice to loosen the mixture, if needed. Remove soup to a large bowl and stir in about 1/2 cup of high quality olive oil. Taste for salt and add more, if needed.
• Chill for at least 4 hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold garnished with the diced cucumber, pepper and onion. Drizzle with a little more olive oil, if desired. I also serve with plain toasted croutons of bread for texture.
• It's an amazingly refreshing soup!

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
• After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.