A couple of weeks ago, Sarah and Evan cooked at the James Beard House operated by the James Beard Foundation in New York City. We had the pleasure of watching them via a webcam in the kitchen.
Their dinner menu included a number of the dishes that have become favorites at Rich Table in San Francisco, including gazpacho with strawberries, chicken skin, and burrata. I have enjoyed that dish several times, but I am not a skilled enough cook to duplicate it, so I’ll just need to make do with gazpacho.
For me, the taste of traditional gazpacho is wonderful. But I don’t like the mouth-feel. It reminds me of baby food. I much prefer seeing the vegetables and bread intact so that it’s almost like eating a liquid salad in a bowl or cup.
I found just the right ingredients at the farmers market, including an Armenian cucumber, aka snake melon. It is not really a cucumber, but it has the crispness and crunch of the freshest of regular cucumbers and without having to worry about seeds. It also has the charm of being slender, long, and coiling around itself. It’s easy to see why it has the name of snake melon.
Vegetables for gazpacho
Easy to make, and refreshing in the fading days of summer.
Croutons on top, ready to serve
RECIPE
Gazpacho Crudo
Ingredients
- juice of 1 lemon
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 ripe large heirloom tomatoes, blanched, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
- 1 large green bell pepper, seeded, membrane removed, and coarsely chopped
- 1 medium red onion, diced
- 1 small Armenian cucumber, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and mashed into paste
- ½ cup Italian parsley, finely chopped
- 4 cups chicken stock
- salt and pepper
- 1 large, I inch-thick slice of good-quality bakery bread, crust remove and cut into 1 inch cubes
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced thinly
Method
- In a large bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil.
- Stir in the tomatoes, bell pepper, onion, cucumber, garlic paste, and parsley, making sure to coat the vegetables with the lemon/olive oil mixture.
- Stir in chicken stock. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
- In the meantime, let the bread cubes dry at room temperature for 1 hour.
- In a small skillet, heat the remaining olive oil over medium heat. Add the sliced garlic and sauté for a few minutes until the garlic is lightly browned. Remove the garlic slices, and add the bread cubes, stirring frequently until lightly browned and crisp. Drain the croutons on several layers of paper towel. Cool, and set aside until ready to garnish the gazpacho.
- Serve the gazpacho in bowls or in large cups with a spoon. Garnish with croutons.
- Serves 4.
From the Family Table 