In the Pacific Northwest, tomato season is a late-arriving affair with a sometimes iffy harvest. Our lack of sustained hot, sunny days is the primary challenge. Still, towards the end of summer decent local tomatoes can be had. We've been enjoying some beautiful heirloom tomatoes from our local food coop - some of which made it into this gazpacho.
This particular gazpacho leans towards chunky side because I've hand-chopped the ingredients. You can do the chopping in a food processor which is quicker--and it's easier to get a very fine chop if that's your preference. The only downside to a food processor is that sometimes the vegetables seemed a bit bruised and battered in addition to being chopped. But either way is delicious.
You can go directly to the printable recipe or I'll show you how to make it, step-by-step...
The oh-so-refreshing ingredients. The bread is used as a binder to help give the gazpacho some body.
We'll start by peeling 2 1/2 pounds of fresh tomatoes. First step here is getting a large saucepan of water going over medium heat.
Remove the core of each tomato...
...and score the bottom of each tomato with an "X".
With a slotted spoon, gently lower the tomatoes into the simmering water. In this pot I was able to fit 3 tomatoes without crowding. Simmer about 1 minute and remove with the slotted spoon.
Let the tomatoes cool slightly. The skin should peel off easily [1]. Cut each peeled tomato crosswise [2].
Take each tomato half [1] and squeeze out the juice and seeds over a strainer, capturing the juice below [2]. The seeded tomato halves will look like [3]. Chop the seeded tomatoes coarsely [4].
When done chopping all the tomatoes, force the remaining juice through the sieve...
...and add the reserved juice to the chopped tomatoes. Set the tomato mixture aside.
For the bread, I'm using about a 6" segment of a small baguette.
With a serrated knife, remove the crust from the bread...
...and measure out 1 cup of torn crustless bread pieces. Add these to a large mixing bowl.
To the bread add 1/4 cup red wine vinegar...
...and 1/4 cup olive oil.
Stir and mash the mixture until the bread is broken up and the ingredients are well-combined.
To the bread mixture add the chopped tomatoes and 12 ounces of tomato juice.
~ Next is a whole lot of chopping. Again, I'm showing the vegetables hand-chopped, but it works fine to do this in a food processor. ~
Remove the ends off jalapeño pepper [1], cut in half lengthwise and (important!) remove the seeds. Finely mince.
Finely chop 1 red pepper.
Cut 1 cucumber in half lengthwise [1] and remove the seeds by scraping with a spoon [2]. Cut into crosswise slides [3] and chop [4].
Finely chop 1 small red onion...
2 stalks of celery...
...and 1 bunch of radishes.
Add the chopped vegetables to the tomato mixture along with 1 teaspoon of salt (or salt to taste).
Serve the gazpacho chilled garnished with hard-boiled egg if desired.
Gazpacho
Serves 6 to 8.
1 cup torn fresh crustless bread pieces
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 1/2 lbs. tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced (juice reserved)
12 ounces tomato juice
1 jalapeño chili, minced
1 cucumber, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 bunch radishes, finely chopped
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
Hard-boiled egg for garnish
In a large mixing bowl, mix together the bread pieces, vinegar, and olive oil until they are well-combined. Add remaining ingredients, including reserved juice from the tomatoes, and stir to combine. Serve gazpacho chilled with a garnish of hard-boiled egg if desired.
I hope you enjoyed this recipe! To view more step-by-step recipes, see the complete recipe index.
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