Gazpacho

[MetsFan5]

  I love it but haven’t made it. I don’t like anything with more than a slightly spicy touch. I’d like to make it and top it with fresh crab and a drizzle of infused olive oil. 
 

Any recommendations? 

[heidih]

A noted by others excellent sweet flavorful tomatoes are key  https://forums.egullet.org/topic/9457-gazpacho/

And yes Russ Parsons and Marlena Spieler - pretty cool

Edited June 21, 2020 by heidih (log)

[weinoo]

That old thread is good, and I like the shout out for the Penelope Casas (RIP) book La Cucina de Mama; most of her books remain in honored spots in my library of cookbooks.

 

That said, there are probably as many variations on gazpacho as there are on, say, what people think is proper to put on top of a pizza. But as @heidih mentions above, if you're making a tomato-based gazpacho, better have good tomatoes. And since we don't really get great fresh tomatoes here, other than maybe in the late summer months (and even then, if we're lucky), canned tomatoes are your friend. For gazpacho, I like good old Hunt's and Muir Glen, as opposed to various Italian tomatoes I might use for other things. (FWIW, these tomatoes from Gustiamo are simply amazing in sauces.)

 

The NY Times recently conducted a canned tomato tasting, and though they were using Marcella's classic tomato sauce as the controlled variable, the results are interesting.

[MokaPot]

I recently discovered Bianco (DiNapoli) canned tomatoes. Organic, grown in California. Really good, IMO.

 

 

So far, I've tried the whole peeled and the crushed in puree. Whole peeled costs a little more. Price is probably similar to Muir Glen.

 

 

[rotuts]

@MokaPot 

 

nive , thank you

 

then there was this ;

 

https://www.nytimes.com/article/best-canned-tomatoes.html  

 

thanks to

 

@weinoo 

 

""   https://www.target.com/p/whole-peeled-tomatoes-28-oz-market-pantry-8482/-/A-12994912 ""

 

 

its in my target basket X!

 

and I have a red card and get 5 % off 1

 

looking forward to the next shipment !

Edited June 21, 2020 by rotuts (log)

[weinoo]

Interesting about both the Joe's and Biancos, because the DiNapoli are the winners in this "test," and if I remember from older tests in other pubs, Whole Foods house brand might've won a few.

[rotuts]

@weinoo 

 

which one is "" Joes ? "

 

did I miss sorting ?

[weinoo]

1 hour ago, rotuts said:

@weinoo 

 

which one is "" Joes ? "

 

did I miss sorting ?

Ahhh, I thought it was the market pantry - I guess that's Target's?

[rotuts]

one click-return away !

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Gaspacho is summer staple for us.    We only use fresh tomatoes and only for the several months they are in season.    The "formula" we use is the ingredient list on, surprisingly, a commercial product we enjoy, no, scarf, in France.   ALVALLE is, depressingly, a subsidiary of Tropicana.   It is sold in dairy-type cartons in supermarkets, around $5 a pint.    A carton of gaspacho, baguette, pot of pork rillettes, jar of cornichon and we are have a lunch hog heaven.  

Alvalle ingredients are tomatoes, red peppers, cucumber, onion, wine vinegar (I use sherry vinegar), EVOO salt, garlic, lemon juice.   I toss peeled tomatoes, charred and peeled pepper, peeled and chunked cucumber, chopped onion in a blender.   Rinse blender with splash of water, add vinegar and EVOO, clove of garlic and puree.   Mix the two purees in a large pitcher.    Salt to taste.    Occasionally we add a kiss of cumin, depending on mood.    This is seriously good stuff.

Edited June 22, 2020 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[mumkin]

We're not eating gazpacho yet—our tomatoes, cukes and peppers are probably a month away from bearing fruit—but once our community garden plot starts producing we'll be eating it nigh daily. I'm not a great one for canning, so gazpacho and ratatouille/samfaina are central to efficiently using up the summer's bounty. My recipe structure is similar to @Margaret Pilgrim's , sans lemon juice. I probably got it from this NYTimes recipe, but I tend to go about 50% lighter on the EVOO because calories. 

Edited June 22, 2020 by mumkin
typo (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

We saw that our Lodi "tomato man" had his sign out last week, so this week will begin our gaspacho season.    

 

A corollary of gaspacho is RAW TOMATO SAUCE.    Chopped, peeled tomatoes, chopped sweet onion, kiss of garlic, handful of basil, pinch of herbs des provence, splash of each sherry and balsamic vinegars, pinch of red pepper flakes, big splash of EVOO, salt.    Let molder for an hour, then serve over HOT pasta.    Lovely    No cheese, please.    

[Owtahear]

All I know....is I have a garden...a big garden.   I have many different tomatoes, San Marzano, Plum, Beefsteak, Brandywine, Better Boy, Black Krim and some heirlooms, plus 2 or 3 cherry tomatoes.   I got bell peppers, banana peppers, jalapenos, cayenne, tabasco, serrano, 3 different types of onions, every herb you can imagine and cucumbers.    And I got a great Spanish Sherry Vinegar.

 

Gazpacho will definitely be on the menu come late July as these veggies ripen!!!!

[Owtahear]

On ‎6‎/‎21‎/‎2020 at 9:43 PM, Margaret Pilgrim said:

We saw that our Lodi "tomato man" had his sign out last week, so this week will begin our gaspacho season.    

 

A corollary of gaspacho is RAW TOMATO SAUCE.    Chopped, peeled tomatoes, chopped sweet onion, kiss of garlic, handful of basil, pinch of herbs des provence, splash of each sherry and balsamic vinegars, pinch of red pepper flakes, big splash of EVOO, salt.    Let molder for an hour, then serve over HOT pasta.    Lovely    No cheese, please.    

And I can't wait.  Hopefully a month from now.......I will raid my garden to make this.

[Owtahear]

Plus....let's face it.....Gazpacho is about one of the most healthy things you can possibly eat!

[MetsFan5]

We don’t have a garden. Gorgeous NJ tomatoes aren’t quite ready yet. 
 

Any opinions on Pomi tomatoes? 
 

thanks for all the advice! 

[Katie Meadow]

If there's one thing you can rely on in the Bay Area it's that if you plan to make gazpacho the fog will roll in and the temperature will drop. I love gazpacho, but in order to enjoy it fully I need to eat it outside in warm weather. After many years of this predictable annoyance I've just given up on it. If I've got the ingredients I usually end up deconstructing the soup. In other words, I make a Greek Salad. Good tomatoes, cukes and olive oil is 75% of the way to gazpacho, right?

[weinoo]

14 hours ago, MetsFan5 said:

We don’t have a garden. Gorgeous NJ tomatoes aren’t quite ready yet. 
 

Any opinions on Pomi tomatoes? 
 

thanks for all the advice! 

They're just allright, in my opinion. But not without cooking. Better stuff available in cans and jars.