Gazpacho

This was the gazpacho that was served at Garlic Day on August 2nd, 2014. It was adapted from Alton Brown’s Gazpacho recipe.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (see instructions below)
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 cup red onion, chopped
1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (if you liked the heat of the gazpacho at Garlic Day, only use half this amount)
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions:

To peel tomatoes, fill a 6 quart pot with water and bring to a boil. Make an x on the bottom of the tomato with a paring knife and drop tomato in boiling water for 15 seconds. Remove and transfer to an ice bath for 1 minute until cool enough to handle. The skins should slip off. Or if using very ripe Farmer Dave’s tomatoes you can skip this step and carefully peel with a paring knife.
Peel, core and seed tomatoes over a fine meshed strainer placed over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Squeeze as much juice as you can from the core and seeds.
Roughly chop tomatoes and add to a bowl with tomato juice, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, jalapeno, garlic, lime, balsamic vinegar, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine.
Place half of the mixture in a blender and puree for 15-20 seconds on high. Return pureed mixture back to bowl and stir to combine.
Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Serve with fresh basil chiffonade.