Recipe: Cherry Gazpacho

I've always enjoyed gazpacho, but it wasn't until last year that I decided it was time to try my hand at making it myself, and I was hooked. Since then I've been making cold soups regularly, and experimenting with various seasonal fruits and veg. I was skeptical at first about fruit gazpachos, but I don't know what I was thinking, because they are lovely.

Since tomatoes don't come into season until mid- to late summer, it can be challenging to find decent tomatoes before then. My go-tos for gazpacho are either Roma or "gazpacho" tomatoes. Good quality Roma tomatoes should be available early in the season and by the middle of July you can usually find gazpacho tomatoes.

INGREDIENTS

For Gazpacho:

• 1 kg tomatoes
• 500 g cherries, pitted
• 1 medium cucumber (about 180 g)
• ½ red bell pepper (about 150 g)
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 8-10 Tbps olive oil
• 1-2 Tbsp apple cider vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
• 25-50 ml water
• salt to taste

For Basil Oil:

• handful of fresh basil leaves
• ½ cup olive oil

Suggested Toppings:

• crumbled goat cheese
• basil oil
• chopped pistachios
• fried serrano ham strips or anchovies
• garlic croutons

METHOD

1. Pit the cherries. I buy about 650 grams so that I have 500 grams of cherries after removing the pit.
2. Core and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Peel, de-seed and coarsely chop the cucumber. Chop half of the red bell pepper.
3. Add the pitted cherries, all the chopped vegetables, minced garlic and a pinch of salt to the bowl of a food processor or a deep-sided sauce pan if you're using an immersion blender.
4. Blend until smooth. If you're using tomatoes that have a relatively low juice content, you may need to add water at this point if the puree is too thick and chunky.
5. Once you have the puree at the consistency you like, continue to blend and gradually begin adding the olive oil a tablespoon at a time. The goal is to get the oil to emulsify with the liquid, so continue to add oil as needed until you've reached the desired consistency.
6. Add the apple cider vinegar a half tablespoon at a time, tasting between each addition until you are happy with the results. I tend to go lighter than most on the vinegar—add as much or as little as you like to suit your taste. If you are using sherry vinegar, keep in mind that it is sharper and more acidic than apple cider vinegar, so you might want to use less.
7. Salt to taste and then chill. For the best results, I suggest you make it a day in advance to allow the flavors to blend. This recipe makes approximately two liters of gazpacho and can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days.

Toppings

I like to top cherry gazpacho with chopped, roasted pistachios, crumbled soft goat cheese and fried serrano ham strips all generously drizzled with some basil oil. But, if I had to choose just one topping, it would be basil oil. It's really simple to make. Wash and dry a handful of fresh basil leaves, add them to a half cup of olive oil with a pinch of salt and blend with an immersion blender or mini food processor.

Note: If you won't be using all of the gazpacho or the basil oil in three to four days, you should freeze them. Since neither is cooked, keeping them for more than four days in the refrigerator can increase the risk of developing Clostridium botulinum bacteria, which causes botulism poisoning. It sounds scary, but it's very rare and like most food-borne illnesses, won't happen if you handle, prepare and dispose of food properly. Freezing fresh, uncooked vegetables, soups and herbs solves this problem because it prevents the bacteria from growing.