17 June 2010
Gazpacho
(Gazpacho a la Matt)
You want something poignant and profound about the human condition?
I didn’t think so. Enough. I humped my sorry guilt-laden butt out of the chill gray Northland. Dad announced that he wanted soup for breakfast; Mom produced a can of bean soup with savory ham chunks that I had procured at Glen’s Supermarket.
The surgeon told us that soft foods would be good, and it was too rainy and cold outside to think of anything except a hearty fall sort of meal.
By the time I drove to TC, did the Canadaire commuter jet hop down to the hub at DTW to jump on the big jet to DCA, snagged the bag and waited for a cab back to Big Pink, I was hungry, exhausted physically and emotionally.
I called Mom to let her know I was back safely, and she told me they were having cereal for dinner. They appear to have slept most of the afternoon, and turned the day upside down. I asked if she remembered the way the soup had exploded in the microwave that morning, and she averred that she did not, though there appeared to be some green stains on her blouse.
I felt worse after the call than I thought, and after I hung up, I looked blankly at my younger son, who had come by for a free meal. The larder was about bare, though I had the basic ingredients for a marvelous recipe that my pal Matt says cannot fail. That would be a refreshing change of pace, I thought.
The skies were parting to reveal the lowering sun and the humidity felt good after the days in the gray of Up North. Cooking was about the last thing I felt like, but I did not mind the prospect of some advanced slicing and dicing. It felt like summer again, and it felt like time for something summery that I did not have to coordinate with what Dad might- or more likely might not- choose to eat.
The Spanish-style soup we call gazpacho in my experience resembles a sort of chunky liquid salad, with lots of fresh, uncooked vegetables suspended in a broth of puréed tomatoes or tomato juice and chicken stock. In the summer when all of the vegetables are at their finest, this simple, modern soup is full of refreshing good flavor. It is a distant cousin, however, of this peasant fare as it first developed. Farther still from the original are the more complex contemporary versions that include everything from clam juice, lobster, and shrimp and to raisins, walnuts, mangos, and melon.
My veggies were not at their finest by a few days, and although organic, were from the Commissary at Fort Myer-Henderson Hall Joint Base. You know about Commissary vegetables: the buyer is probably from Kellogg-Brown & Root or Halliburton and could be someone who was personally selected by Vice President Cheney.
But what the hell. I had purchased the right stuff and it was not going to get any fresher.
I looked at the note that I printed off at the office to refresh my memory. It went like this:
Vic -
Having spent my first 22 years in Upstate New York I'm more comfortable with the snows we experienced this past February than the stifling heat of summer recently descended on the DC Metro area. One of the things that makes it more bearable though is the opportunity to make gazpacho - the cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup. In fact, I look forward to that first hot, humid day as an excuse to make my inaugural batch. (My wife also looks forward to it. Not to brag, but my gazpacho is the best gazpacho I've ever had.) Now you can make a batch and cool down after a long hot day of keeping the world safe for democracy.
Combine the following in a non-reactive bowl.
3 cups tomato juice (I like spicy V8)
1 red onion - coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic - finely chopped or pressed
3 beefsteak tomatoes - diced
1 red bell pepper diced
1 yellow bell pepper diced
2 large cucumbers peeled and diced (I seed mine)
2 tablespoons virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
* Place half of the mixture in a blender or food processor and puree
* Return the puree back into the original mixture and stir by hand
* Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours so the flavors combine
Serve topped with fresh chopped cilantro and a side of good crusty bread
The bonus is that if you get tired of eating gazpacho you can blend it all until smooth and have the perfect base for the finest Bloody Mary you have ever had.
Enjoy!
M.
My son liked it, and though I didn’t have fresh bread, some Texas Toast with garlic from the freezer was good enough and the soup it was every bit as refreshing as advertised. I asked my son to figure out how to work the HBO on demand so I could watch the first episode of Season Three’s True Blood. He was getting restless after eating, so as the highlights from Season Two flashed by, I decided that the blender already needed washing, and I might as well go straight from gazpacho to something vodka-based to take down to the pool.
I can figure out the Michigan stuff in the morning. Or not.
Copyright 2010 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
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