After ten days of intensive carnivorous activity—a staged and carnivalesque Atkins diet, pounds and pounds of barbecue, stretching from Kansas City to Lockhart, Texas—I needed my fruits and vegetables. Gazpacho seemed like an appropriately fibrous choice, although my approach is less than traditional: a pile of tomatoes, a blender, a knife, and happenstance chopping lead to cold chunky soup. Served with starchy garnishes and seafood, my gazpacho fakes its way to detox.
Mock Gazpacho
1 lb Roma tomatoes
1 lb yellow cherry tomatoes
2 lb Campari tomatoes
32 ounces canned San Marzano tomatoes, chopped
3 bell peppers, diced
1 cucumber, diced
1 lemon
1/2 white onion
1 cup bread crumbs
2 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/8 cup marjoram leaves
1/8 cup thyme leaves
4 basil leaves
4 sage leaves
1 tbsp rosemary leaves
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tbsp black pepper
1 tsp sriracha
salt to taste
Put the canned San Marzano tomatoes in a large pot. In a blender, pulse the other tomatoes until roughly chopped, adding 1/4 cup olive oil during the blending. Depending on the size of your blender, you might need to empty the tomatoes into the pot partway through. Add the rest of the olive oil, the bread crumbs, the herbs, garlic, onion, sriracha, vinegar, soy, and Worcestershire sauce to the blender and puree. Pour into the pot. Add the bell pepper and cucumber to the pot. Juice the lemon into the pot, taking care to separate out seeds. Add all remaining spices, stir the pot, and salt to taste. Let sit in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.
Garnish with:
roasted corn
boiled fingerling potatoes
octopus
cockles
sardines
avocado
