The Jason Seal of Approval

Last week was very meat heavy what with the southwestern brisket (which we ate several times given the large quantity it made) and our first foray into Korean BBQ Saturday night with our friends Matt and Stephanie. Given that, we decided that we needed to balance things out with more veggie-focused meals this week.

Last night we did just that, enjoying my first attempt at making a summer (and vegetarian) favorite—Gazpacho.  This could not be a better (or easier) meal—chop up some veggies, throw them in the blender, add seasonings to taste, and chill in the fridge for a few hours until ready to eat. It’s even better when you have farm fresh produce to put into it (like the tomatoes we bought during Saturday’s trip to the farmers market). Serve with some toasted, garlicky bread and you’ve got yourself a real crowd pleaser.

My aforementioned friend Stephanie recommended Everyday Food’s recipe so I used that as a base although I made some significant changes to the amounts (given the recipe was part of its “Cooking for One” column) as well as added a few ingredients to make it more our speed.  I think it turned out pretty well. I wasn’t sure how Jason would like it (he had never had gazpacho before) but the first words out of his mouth upon tasting were “I really like it. You’ll have to make this again.” Consider this recipe to be Jason-approved!

Gazpacho with Toasted Garlicky Bread
Adapted generously from Everyday Food

Ingredients:
3 medium tomatoes, cut into chunks
1 medium cucumber, peeled and diced
½ large red pepper, diced
½ medium red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 ½ teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 TBL olive oil, plus more for serving
2 generous shots of hot sauce
Salt and pepper
French baguette, sliced
1 garlic clove, sliced in half

1.Place 2-3 TBL each of the cucumber, red pepper, and red onion in a container and set aside for serving.
2.Place tomatoes into a blender or food processor and puree until almost smooth. Add remaining cucumber, red pepper, red onion, garlic, vinegar, 1 TBL olive oil, hot sauce, and generous amounts of salt and pepper. Puree until you reach the desired consistency.
3.Chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes (I left ours in for about 3 hours).
4.Right before serving, drizzle olive oil on each side of the sliced bread. Toast under the broiler until golden brown, about 1-2 minutes per side. Rub each side of toasted bread with garlic clove.
5.Check gazpacho for seasonings. Divide into two bowls. Top with reserved diced vegetables and drizzle with olive oil. Serve with garlicky bread.