Classic Gazpacho

Ahh Summer. Well not quite yet, but the weather and produce is making a turn for the warmer. In Whole Foods this week (I am a Whole Foods gal now, because my move put me a touch too far from my beloved Wegmans), I found cherries, apricots, and beautiful tomatoes. They may not be Jerseys yet, but they were so delicious, they just had to become my absolute favorite tomato dish. When I lived (lived being the loose term applied to the summers I spent there) in Spain, particularly Madrid, I ate Gazpacho every single day. I could not get enough, and I never got sick of it. I would have it for lunch, or stop on my walk home from class. I loved the cool and refreshing soup, and the little plate of mix ins it came with. Making this made me so happy, and eating it out on my deck this weekend brought me right back to my favorite little neighborhood joint in Madrid, where I would sit outside, enjoy the weather, the company of good friends, and a delicious bowl of cool, refreshing Gazpacho.

Classic Gazpacho:
2 inch long piece of baguette, without the crust
2 garlic cloves
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp of Sherry vinegar
1 tsp of sugar
2 1/2 lb of tomatoes
1/2 red bell pepper
1/2 jalapeno
1/2 cucumber
1/4 vidalia onion

Fixings:
1/2 a tomato
1/2 cucumber
1/2 bell pepper
1/4 vidalia onion
1/2 lime
2 inch piece of baguette

In a food processor, minch the garlic and salt together. Soak the bread in a some water for 1 minute, then ring out as much water as you can and add to the food processor. Core and quarter the tomatoes, peel the cucumber, and remove the seeds and ribs from the bell pepper Add in sherry, sugar, half of the tomatoes, the peppers, cucumber and onion. Blend until no large pieces remain, while the motor is running, and the rest of the tomatoes, until everything is liquified and combined. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pass soup through a strainer into a large bowl. Reserve the solids. Cover the gazpacho and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, up to overnight. Serve with the fixings: dice the tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion into small squares. Slice the lime into thin wedges. Slice the baguette like you are making bruscetta (into thin strips). Toast the bread and then cube that as well. To serve your soup (in the classic Spanish fashion), serve the gazpacho plain, with the fixings on the side and let people stir in their own amounts of each to the soup before eating. Use reserved solids to make pan con tomate (see below).

You could discard the solids, but it's much tastier and less wasteful use them for pan con tomate (a favorite treat of mine from my time in Barcelona). It's like a Spanish version of a extra garlicy bruscetta. Slice 2 inch pieces of baguette and then cut those in half. Toast them lightly, then rub them with a garlic clove that has been cut in half. Drizzle the toast with extra virgin olive oil and top with the reserved tomato solids from the soup.

Happy Eating.

Warm Summer Pasta Salad

I will admit, that when I started making this, I didn't know what I was doing. I didn't know what the end product would be or how it would taste. I couldn't decide if I was going to have separate components or one dish, mostly I was just upset because I had planned on making fried chicken cutlets, only to discover I was out of chicken. Life goes on, and becomes what is arguably the best pasta dish I have ever made. And so summery too, something about tomatoes and goat cheese, it just tastes like summer and so does this pasta.



I don't know about the rest of you out there, but the tomatoes in my area have been absolutely stunning this year. Better than I can ever remember. My 2 main sources of tomatoes have been my garden and my CSA, although I occasionally supplement with LOCALLY grown tomatoes from my friendly neighborhood Wegmans. I don't think I have had a bad (forget bad, a not fantastic) tomato all season. I hope your's have been just as delicious.



Warm Pasta Salad:
1 lb of penne or rotini
2 large tomatoes
1 large onion
1 tbsp of brown sugar
1 tbsp of olive oil
2 tbsp store bought pesto
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup Pecorino Ramano cheese
2 oz of soft goat cheese
salt, pepper, red pepper flakes

Boil water for the pasta and heat the olive oil in a large pan. Slice onion into thin slices and toss with the brown sugar. Put onions into a hot pan and reduce heat to medium low, cook until soft and brown (when the pasta is done) and stir occasionally, so nothing burns. About before the pasta is ready to be strained, chop the tomatoes and add them to the onions, stir and raise heat to high. Drain the pasta, leaving a little water clinging to the noodles. Pour the noodles into the tomatoes and onions and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and add the pesto and Parmesan and Pecorino cheese. Mix together, add salt, pepper and red pepper flakes to taste. Crumble in the goat cheese right before serving.

Happy Eating.

Summer Perfection

What is summer perfection? For food it is those exceptionally delicious items that can only found (or found decent) when it is so sunny and warm. Namely, tomatoes, corn, watermelon and peaches. There are more, but that is my list. I love seasonal things, they are so much more special than food that can be found any old day of the year (this is why I only make ginger snaps in the fall, even though I technically could make them any time, but more on that in October). I will admit the corn that I have had so far this year has been fairly disappointing, but the other three have more than made up for it. Especially the tomatoes, the wonderful, juicy tasty, perfect tomatoes, and I am growing them, which makes it even more satisfying. For this recipe I used a combination of some from my garden and some wonderful colorful heirloom tomatoes from the store. The resulting concoction was absolutely amazing, summer in a bite. I am not sure exactly how to classify or call it, but here it is...


Warm Tomato and Goat Cheese Salad:
1 Tbsp of olive oil (I used a Chipotle infused olive oil)
6-8 oz of your favorite French or Italian bread (something hearty will do best)
1 1/2 lbs of delicious tomatoes (I used a mix from my garden and heirlooms from the store)
1 medium shallot
2 oz of soft goat cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup of Parmesan cheese, grated

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut bread into large bite size chunks. Heat the oil in a large pan and toss in bread to toast lightly and coat with oil. Chop tomatoes into roughly the same size pieces as the bread. Dice the shallot. Add shallot and tomatoes to the pan and toss to combine. Crumble in goat cheese and toss to combine, pour everything into a glass bake dish, and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, bake for 30 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the tomatoes are bubbling. Serve and enjoy.

I served these wonderful tomatoes along with an Chipotle marinated pork tenderloin (although the tomatoes stole the show, the pork was also delicious, and spicy) and some corn on the cob.


Chipotle Pork Tenderloin:
1 small can chipotles in adobo
2 limes, juiced
2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt, pepper
1 pork tenderloin, about 1 lb.

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl to taste. Put pork in a plastic freezer bag and coat with marinade. Let marinate at least an hour and up to overnight. Cook at 350 for about 15 minutes then 400 for about 10 minutes, or until pork is cooked to desired level. Serve and enjoy.

Happy Eating.