Kosher Food and Drink

Summertime in Baltimore brings soaring temps and struggling air conditioners groaning in the humidity. Cooking for Shabbos in the summer, I always aim to keep my oven and stove usage to a minimum. Additionally, coming home from shul to a cool, refreshing soup seems a lot more appropriate than a steaming bowl to start your Friday night meal.

I love gazpacho, the traditional blended veggie soup from Andalucía, Spain. I really love all tomato-based items, but gazpacho is so delicious, I could eat it daily. It is also super easy to make.

Let’s dive right in to the recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 English cucumber or 6-8 Persian cucumbers, some chopped for garnish
• 2-3 pounds ripe tomatoes, chopped*
• 1 jalapeno, seeded and stemmed. chopped.
• ¼ red onion
• 2 garlic cloves
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, leave more for garnish
• 3 TBSP old red wine*
• 3 TBSP apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup EVOO, plus more for drizzling
• 1 and a half teaspoons sea salt
• Half teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

NOTES:

1. I used Roma tomatoes for the fleshiness.
2. I always have a bottle of opened red wine sitting around for use in place of red wine vinegar. I balance it up with some other vinegar, such as apple cider or white. Balsamic could work here too, even as a garnish.

INSTRUCTIONS:

• Cut the cucumber into manageable sizes for your processor. Transfer to processor or blender.
• Chop ¼ of the cucumber and reserve for garnish.
• Add the tomatoes, jalapeno, red onion, garlic, cilantro, wine, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper to the processor/blender. Pulse until smooth without pureeing.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste and chill.
• Garnish with the reserved cucumber, cilantro, olive oil drizzle, and freshly ground black pepper. You could also drizzle some nice balsamic on top.
• Serve with crusty bread.