Gazpacho

In the summer of 1978, I and five other Discalced Carmelite students from the States visited Spain for six wonderful weeks, touring the places associated with St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross, usually staying in monasteries with the friars. It was a great experience and one for which I am grateful.

The first half of the trip we were in Castile, the large section with Madrid at the center. The second half of the trip was in Andalusia, the blue bit at the bottom of the map. We were treated well everywhere, but we noticed that the monastery meals in Castile almost never included much in the way of fresh vegetables. What a change in Andalusia! Lots of salads and veggies, and every monastery seemed determined to prove that they had the best gazpacho -- a soup made with a tomato base and raw vegetables and eaten (usually) cold in the summer. Very refreshing!

This came to mind recently when another blogger mentioned his love for soups in the summertime and a number of us sent him recipes. I sent him this one for gazpacho.

Very (Very) Chunky Gazpacho
Serves 6-8

8 cups tomato juice (one cup reserved), preferable bottled, not canned
6 ripe roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped (peeled if you have oodles of time)
2 Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 poblano or anaheim pepper (or green bell if you really have to), seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
Salt, pepper and hot sauce (e.g. Tabasco) to taste
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)
In a food processor, pulse about half of the tomatoes until just pureed.
In a glass or non-reactive bowl, combine the pureed and chopped tomatoes with 7 cups of tomato juice and the remainder of the ingredients up to the Worcestershire sauce.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
After the ingredients have been allowed to combine overnight, taste for seasoning and heat, and adjust with salt, pepper and hot sauce accordingly. If the Gazpacho is thicker than you would like, add reserved cup of tomato juice.
Serve chilled and lightly drizzled with olive oil, if desired.

I realized that I had not made it myself for a while, and yesterday I obtained the necessary ingredients and today I made a batch. It is in the refrigerator with the flavors melding even as I type.  And here is a picture -- but it looks better in real life! As you can see, I like mine very chunky indeed.

 To paraphrase the musical Annie, "Tomorrow, tomorrow, gazpacho tomorrow! It's only a day away."