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Recipe by:
Stu Stein, chef and owner, The Peerless Restaurant, Oregon
Courtesy of Sustainable Table ® Description:
One bright August morning Steve Florin of Dancing Bear Farm dropped off the season’s first heirloom tomatoes. As brilliant in color as sunshine, not only were these tomatoes exploding with true tomato flavor, they inspired a welcome diversion when the thermometer outside was pushing 100 degrees. How fast can a chef think cold soup? Traditional gazpacho is a Spanish chilled soup from Andalusia using red tomatoes and soaked bread. Our version uses Yellow Taxi tomatoes and omits the bread. A Yellow Taxi tomato is a low-acid, meaty, sweet heirloom slicing tomato, with a lemon-yellow skin. It is fairly easy to grow in cooler climates. Ingredients:
6 Organic Yellow Taxi tomatoes or other yellow heirloom tomatoes
ripecloves garlic peeled
1 English or regular waxy cucumber peeled seeded and cut into large pieces
1 yellow pepper seeded and cut into large pieces
1 red onion cut into large pieces
½ small hot red chili seeded cut into large pieces or to taste
¼ cup red wine vinegar
3 ounces extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and white pepper to taste
4 each red and yellow cherry tomatoes cut in half for garnish
Avocado Tomato Salsa
2 seasonal avocados preferably Haas flesh cut into small dice
1 small hot red chili seeded cut into small dice
1 small red onion cut into small dice
1 red heirloom slicing tomato peeled seeded and diced
1 tablespoon cilantro finely chopped
juice of one lime
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste
Directions:
To Prepare the Soup:
Working in batches pureée all ingredients except for the cherry tomatoes in a blender until smooth.
Strain mixture through a fine mesh strainer into another bowl by pressing the solids with a wooden spoon in order to extract as much liquid as possible Season with salt and pepper Refrigerate two hours or overnight.
Before serving taste and adjust seasoning.
To Prepare the Salsa:
Combine all ingredients in a stainless steel bowl and refrigerate at least 20 minutes
To Serve:
Place salsa in the center of chilled soup bowls Ladle soup around the salsa and garnish with red and yellow cherry tomato halves
Advance Preparation:
We recommend making this soup a day ahead The flavors are better and more complex given a day of rest in the refrigerator Other Options:
This soup can be made with either red or yellow tomatoes as long as they are ripe and sustainable. The flavor of the soup depends entirely on the taste of the tomatoes. Tips:
Ripe tomatillos can be substituted for the heirloom tomatoes in the salsa. They will add a citrus flavor element that will balance the richness of the avocado. To Learn More:
The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests and Oceans Notes:
Used with permission from: The Sustainable Kitchen: Passionate Cooking Inspired by Farms, Forests and Oceans, Stu Stein with Mary Hinds and Judith H. Dern, New Society Publishers, June 2003, $22.95. Recipe Number 33 added on 2009-11-30
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