Gazpacho Andaluz - Saturday April 17, 2010

Photo courtesy of Zizania.

I wanted to make sure that I could prepare as much of my Saturday night dinner as possible ahead of time. So, sticking with the Spanish theme and Teresa Barrenechea's "The Cuisines of Spain", I opted for a simple gazpacho as a starter. The hardest part of this recipe is selecting the ripe tomatoes, everything else is a breeze. Let it sit for 4 or more hours in the fridge before serving - the flavors blend better that way.

6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 large cucumber--peeled, halved, seeded and cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1/2 cup water
1/3 to 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
Salt to taste

Optional hot sauce, for serving. Serves 4.

In a blender or food processor, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, water, oil and vinegar and process until coarsely pureed. Season with salt and refrigerate until chilled. Serve with hot sauce.

Verdict: Very nice, always a great way to start a meal. This particular version was very simple - but you can garnish it with pretty much anything, including some roughly chopped versions of the ingredients or a drizzle of olive oil.

I served it plain, with a sliced baguette, some olive oil on the side and a bowl of olives. Strangely, my 2 girls, who ordinarily love anything that has vegetables in it, hated this. More for me, too bad.