Gazpacho, easily pureed in your food processor or blender, is so refreshing on a hot summer evening. Use the best, vine-ripened tomatoes you can find for this recipe. Serve the gazpacho as a starter with crisp Parmesan toasts.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups cubed day-old French baguette, crusts removed
- 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes
- 1 cucumber
- 1 yellow bell pepper, seeds and membranes removed, cut into chunks
- 2 small shallots, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
- 1/4 cup fresh parsley leaves
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
- 1/2 cup low-sodium vegetable stock or broth
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground white pepper
- For Parmesan Toasts:
- 8 slices French baguette, cut on the bias
- 1 clove garlic, cut in half
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
Preparation:
- Put cubed baguette in a small bowl and add just enough water to cover the bread. Set aside.
- Cut tomatoes into quarters, remove stem and rinse seeds away under running water. Roughly chop tomatoes. Peel cucumber, cut in half lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out and discard the seeds. Roughly chop cucumber.
- Remove bread from the water and squeeze out excess water. Add bread and tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Add the cucumber, bell pepper and shallots and process until smooth. Add the parsley, vinegar and vegetable stock, and pulse until the parsley is chopped.
- With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then transfer gazpacho to a bowl, cover, and refrigerate for an hour or overnight.
- To make parmesan toasts, toast baguette slices in a toaster oven or broiler until lightly toasted. While toasts are still hot, rub one side of each piece with the cut part of a piece of garlic. Using a pastry brush, brush the garlic-rubbed sides with olive oil. Place toasts on a foil-covered baking sheet (or the baking tray that came with your toaster oven) and sprinkle them with parmesan cheese. Broil the toasts until cheese melts, 2 to 3 minutes. Serve two pieces of Parmesan Toast alongside each bowl of gazpacho.
Makes 4 servings of Tomato Gazpacho with Parmesan Toasts
