Spicy Gazpacho
They say that spicy food cools you down in steamy weather so I made this soup in a desperate attempt to do just that. I served it next to the Avocado-Cucumber soup that I posted a couple weeks ago, and topped it with crabmeat. The cool, luscious soup next to the tomato soup was a great contrast, but the gazpacho alone is a delicious, spicy kick in the ass. You could fire-roast the tomatoes on the grill yourself, instead of the canned, if you choose. Just add a small can of spicy green chiles or a jalepeno pepper if you do that. I served it with a pita that I grilled with Manchego shredded on top, but any aged cheese would work.
My New Mexican cooking class is this evening at the Natural Gourmet! Its sold out and I’m very excited, and a little nervous, about that. I hope to see some your friendly faces out there. We are going to be cranking out some damn tasty food tonight, and a whole lot of it!
Spicy Gazpacho
Ingredients
28 ounces of fire-roasted tomatoes with green chiles (like Trader Joe’s brand)
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped (about 6 cups)
1 red pepper chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
3 tablespoons olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
1/8 cup fresh basil, chopped (garnish)
Procedure
1. Put tomatoes and juice, cucumbers, red pepper, garlic in food processor and pulse until roughly chopped.
2. Stir in vinegar, Worcester, olive oil and season to taste
3. Top with basil to garnish or optionally serve with Avocado-Cucumber Soup in the same bowl, pouring from opposite sides at the same time.
I've recently moved my life from Brooklyn, New York to Sonoma County, California to pursue a life in food and wine. I am now the executive chef at