Gazpacho

This recipe comes to us care of Wylie Goodman, the Couchsurfing Cook (http://www.couchsurfingcook.com). For a little over a year, Wylie has been hosting couchsurfers in her Brooklyn apartment and inviting them to bring recipes from around the world as part of their stay. What they often bring, however, are hilarious and touching stories and adventures about their lives, all of which find their way into her blog. She publishes every other week, and you can be sure that each episode will not only provide you with a great recipe, but also introduce you to a fascinating person. Here Wylie shares a recipe for gazpacho that she picked up recently from Monica, a woman from Barcelona who came to stay with her during Hurricane Irene.

Gazpacho is a great, refreshing recipe for a hot day, and one that requires only six ingredients, many of which can be found in places the world over. The other nice thing about gazpacho is that it can be made without a stove (though does require brief blending or at least some serious mushing with a spoon).

Gazpacho:

Ingredients:
1 1/4 pounds very ripe, plum tomatoes – 630 grams
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons diced cucumber – 28 grams
1/4 cup diced green pepper – 53 grams
4 ounces olive oil – 118 millilitres
2 ounces red wine vinegar – 59 millilitres
Optional: Croutons (fresh or slightly stale bread brushed with olive oil and baked briefly in oven to crisp)

Tools:

Kitchen Knife
Bowl for Mixing Ingredients
Blender (optional)
Hand Mixer (optional)

Directions:
1. Roughly dice tomatoes into small cubes.
2. Place all ingredients except for olive oil and vinegar in a bowl or blender.
3. Blend with a hand mixer or in the blender until smooth.
4. Add olive oil followed by red wine vinegar. Blend again to emulsify. Approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Top with croutons and a drizzle of olive oil.
6. Allow gazpacho to chill for a few hours to enrich flavor.
7. Serve cold or slightly chilled.