Food writer Mark Bittman’s latest column reminded us there are a few weeks left to the tomato season. For us, tomatoes often mean gazpacho. And we recently made a great grilled gazpacho created by our go-to source on grilling matters, Steven Raichlen. We quickly contacted him for permission to publish his recipe. We got the thumbs up. So we want to share his gazpacho while the tomato season is still here.
“Grilling adds a smoky dimension that transforms this warm-weather soup from the realm of refreshing to unforgettable,” Raichlen says in his excellent tome, The Barbecue! Bible (Workman Publishing, 2008), where this gazpacho appears. (You can also see Steven Raichlen's recipes for grilled pepper salad, rotisseried baby-back ribs, roast leg of lamb, and all-purpose marinade.)For his gazpacho recipe, Raichlen grills scallions, garlic, red onion, slices of artisan bread, bell peppers, and, of course, ripe tomatoes. He uses a paring knife to remove the charred skin from the tomatoes, bell peppers and onion. “Don’t worry about removing every last bit,” he says.The vegetables and grilled bread are puréed in a food process, along with fresh herbs (basil, parsley, etc.), red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.Thin the gazpacho to a “pourable consistency” with cold water, and season it with salt and pepper. Raichlen says the gazpacho can be served immediately but will taste even better in an hour once the flavors have had a chance blend.We put our gazpacho (photo above) in the fridge and gave the flavors a chance to blend overnight.Raichlen suggests serving the gazpacho as a first course. We thought it would make a perfect main course because it looked so good.We weren’t disappointed.Bon appétit,Claude S. WeillerVice President of Sales & MarketingCalifornia Olive Ranch
“Grilling adds a smoky dimension that transforms this warm-weather soup from the realm of refreshing to unforgettable,” Raichlen says in his excellent tome, The Barbecue! Bible (Workman Publishing, 2008), where this gazpacho appears. (You can also see Steven Raichlen's recipes for grilled pepper salad, rotisseried baby-back ribs, roast leg of lamb, and all-purpose marinade.)For his gazpacho recipe, Raichlen grills scallions, garlic, red onion, slices of artisan bread, bell peppers, and, of course, ripe tomatoes. He uses a paring knife to remove the charred skin from the tomatoes, bell peppers and onion. “Don’t worry about removing every last bit,” he says.The vegetables and grilled bread are puréed in a food process, along with fresh herbs (basil, parsley, etc.), red wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.Thin the gazpacho to a “pourable consistency” with cold water, and season it with salt and pepper. Raichlen says the gazpacho can be served immediately but will taste even better in an hour once the flavors have had a chance blend.We put our gazpacho (photo above) in the fridge and gave the flavors a chance to blend overnight.Raichlen suggests serving the gazpacho as a first course. We thought it would make a perfect main course because it looked so good.We weren’t disappointed.Bon appétit,Claude S. WeillerVice President of Sales & MarketingCalifornia Olive Ranch
