This is a post I try to include every few years because it is so delicious!
I learned about Gazpacho when I first moved to California in 1960. It was a huge fad at that time, and I was knocked over by it! It’s been given a number of names, including “liquid salad,” but whatever you call it, it’s simply delicious!
This may seem like a summer-only dish to many of the mainlanders, but in California, and especially here in Hawai`i, we can eat it year-round.
The beauty of a healthy serving of Gazpacho is that you can put almost any kind of raw veggie into it. Take your pick from:
fresh tomatoes (about 2-3 pounds cut into quarters, skin and all – or canned, peeled tomatoes) cucumber
carrots
onion
bell peppers (I used a combination of orange, red, yellow baby bells)
garlic
maybe a Jalepeño for a little kick?
Zap it up in a blender or food processor until thick and chunky.
Store it in the fridge until it’s good and cold.
Ladle it into a bowl, top with crumbled feta and sprigs of cilantro.
To go with this, I like to serve a good loaf of crunchy rustic bread fresh from the oven, and maybe a big hunk of sharp cheese.
Dig in!
A hui hou!
I love gazpacho… I tasted a green tomato gazpacho not long ago that was delicious. Need to play with that a bit myself as I was not given the recipe…Also, one of our local restaurants in Hilo was serving a watermelon gazpacho that was wonderful!
I think my brother mentioned a watermelon gazpacho that he had in Florida. There are many veggies and fruits that can be added, I suspect. I do like a little “bite” to it, and the feta with a jalepeno seem to do that! 🙂 I love having a container of it on hand in the fridge when I need something quick!
I know the traditional gazpacho includes old bread and almonds, but I never add it to mine…I do like to experiment with different combinations of veggies. I haven’t tried making the watermelon one yet, but it was delicious! A little bit in mine is ok, but I don’t care for too spicy. I’ve used the tiny red hot Hawaiian pepper in some of my recipes before.
If you don’t have one, I will give you a couple of the peppers when I see you at Kele’s so you can plant the seeds.
I’d love the seeds. I get the tiny Thai peppers off my plants, and Thai Jalapeno. I can use those, I imagine, but I’d like the Hawaiian peppers, too. I got some a few years ago at the Greenwell Seed Exchange, but they never sprouted. Not sure what happened, so I’m ready to try again. I’m afraid I won’t have anything to bring to share in the way of seeds or plants this time.
That’s ok. I’ll have some to share
😉