French Laundry Gazpacho Food

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• 1. In a bowl, reserve 2 tablespoons each of the tomato, cucumber, pepper, and onion to garnish.
• 2. In the food processor or blender, purée the remaining ingredients (except the croutons) until smooth, adjusting the seasoning to taste with lemon juice, salt, and cayenne pepper.
• 3. Cover and chill thoroughly, at least 3 hours but preferably overnight. Adjust the consistency as desired with water. Serve in chilled bowls garnished with the reserved vegetables and croutons.

BEST GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.
• Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

FRENCH LAUNDRY GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients except balsamic glaze in a bowl, cover, let sit overnight refrigerated. Next day, remove the thyme sprig, blend all ingredients until smooth. About 2 quarts. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Balsamic glaze: Heat 2 cups balsamic vinegar in heavy saucepan over medium until steam rises. Place saucepan on heat diffuser, allow liquid to reduce very slowly, 2-3 hours until thickened to syrupy glaze, about 1 cup. Store at room temperature, squeeze bottle. Garnish gazpacho with the glaze at serving.

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight.
• The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve.
• To complete: Ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top.
• Heat the vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn't simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze.

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!
• After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.

CLASSIC ANDALUSIAN GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Soak bread in 1/2 cup water 1 minute, then squeeze dry, discarding soaking water.
• Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste, bread, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sugar, cumin, and half of tomatoes in a food processor until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream, blending until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute.
• Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.
• Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

GAZPACHO

Steps:

• 1. Mix all the ingredients except the balsamic glaze together in a bowl or other container, cover, and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. 2. The next day, remove the thyme and blend all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth. You will have about 2 quarts. For a smoother texture, strain the soup to yield about 1 quart. Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve. To complete: Ladle the cold soup into bowls and squeeze dots of balsamic glaze over the top. A note on the tomato juice: To drown vine-ripened vegetables in inferior tomato juice and call it Gazpacho is travesty. A blind tasting of seven leading brands said while Campbell's did not receive uniformly negative marks, neither was it among most tasters top choices. Ungood tomato juices include V-8, Knudsen, and Muir Glen. The juices that rated tops, fresh Samantha and Welch's have distinctive different flavor profiles. Fresh Samantha was termed spice and peppery but fresh tasting. Welch's is straightforward, tomatoey and mellow. I ordered Welches from Gristedies in NYC. Alas Buffalo stores do not carry Welches Tomato juice. Balsamic Glaze 2 cups balsamic vinegar Heat the vinegar in a heavy saucepan over medium heat until steam rises from the liquid. Place the saucepan on a heat diffuser and let the liquid reduce very slowly (it shouldn't simmer) for 2 to 3 hours, until it has reduced and thickened to a syrupy glaze. There should be approximately 1/2 cup of glaze. Keep the glaze in a squeeze bottle at room temperature for garnishing: if the glaze is too thick, warm the bottle in hot water to loosen the glaze.