SpiceLines

But I can’t use them up fast enough. After last Saturday’s tomato foray, some are already too soft and a few—quelle horreur!—are starting to get spots. Still they have that luscious, left-on–the-vine-a–little-too–long flavor of the slightly over ripe tomato.

When that happens, it’s time to give up and make gazpacho.

As an aside, let me say there is nothing as wanton as having so tomatoes that you can just toss them into the food processor and think nothing of it.

Gazpacho, as you surely know, is a cold, uncooked soup eaten all over Spain, but principally in Andalucia where the summers are scorching hot. According to Clifford A. Wright, gazpacho may have originated during the medieval era when Andalucia was under Islamic rule. (The word itself may be derived from the Mozarab word caspa, which means “residue” or “fragments”—“an allusion to the small pieces of bread and vegetables” that make up the traditional version of the soup.)

Although gazpacho now takes many forms—I especially love white ajo blanco, made of almonds and garlic—the most revered is gazpacho andaluz, a simple combination of tomatoes, cucumber and sweet peppers. Typically, these ingredients are blended together, sometimes with stale bread, to make a thick soup which is chilled for a few hours before serving. Seasonings are simple: salt, sherry or wine vinegar and extra virgin olive oil.

This version is different, not only delicious, but beautiful to look at. Let’s call it a “deconstructed” gazpacho, since most of the ingredients are not blended, but chopped and stirred together, giving crunch and texture to the thick puree of raw tomatoes that forms the base of the soup. Besides those glorious end-of-summer tomatoes, I used diced cucumber, radish and yellow Bell pepper, plus minced jalapeno for heat. Fresh herbs--mint, cilantro, flat leaf parsley and chives—added spritely flavors not ordinarily found in gazpacho.

And because this is really a garden soup, why not sprinkle a few flowers into the mix? A nasturtium blossom would be nice, or maybe mint, basil or chive blossoms. Is your rosemary in bloom now? Mine is, so the gazpacho is strewn with tiny sky blue florets. (Just be sure that any flowers you use are organic and unsprayed). Thinly sliced cherry tomatoes, especially tiny red and yellow pears, are also appealing.

The last touch: Into the center of soup, pour a spoonful of your very best extra virgin olive oil and another of white wine vinegar. Do not stir: Let the flavors astound your palate when you dip your spoon into the bowl.

This gazpacho is so amazingly good that you may not want to share.

But you must. That’s what a tomato glut is all about.

Deconstructed Gazpacho with Cucumber, Jalapeno and Mint

To serve 4:

Ingredients:

3-1/2 pounds very ripe tomatoes
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 medium cucumbers, peeled, seeds removed
2 medium yellow Bell peppers, seeds and veins removed
1 bunch radishes
1 or 2 fresh jalapenos, stemmed and seeded
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, packed
¼ cup flat leaf parsley leaves, packed
¼ cup cilantro leaves, packed
4 or 5 assorted cherry tomatoes, thinly sliced
Edible flowers for garnish: nasturtium blossoms, or basil, rosemary, mint or chive flowers.
4 chive stems, cut into 2-inch lengths
Extra virgin olive oil, to taste
White wine vinegar, to taste

Method:

1. Core the tomatoes and puree them, in two or three batches, in the food processor. Don’t obsess about getting the tomatoes absolutely smooth. It’s fine if the mixture is a little chunky.
2. Once the tomatoes have been processed, run them through a food mill positioned over a large bowl. This will remove the skins and most of the seeds—a nice touch if you are serving the soup to guests. The gazpacho will be fairly thick, but that’s as it should be. Add sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for two to three hours.
3. In the meantime, chop the cucumbers, Bell peppers and radishes in ¼-inch dice. Finely chop the jalapenos. Put them in separate containers and refrigerate.
4. Finely chop the herbs and refrigerate. Leave a few leaves whole for garnish.
5. About 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, construct the gazpacho: Into each of four bowls, pour an equal amount of chilled tomato soup. Stir in equal amounts of chopped cucumber, Bell pepper, radish and jalapeno. Sprinkle in equal amounts of each herb and give one big stir. Some of the vegetables and herbs should be visible on the surface of the soup. Garnish with a few cherry tomato slices. Float a few flowers, whole herb leaves and chive stems on top of the soup.
6. Just before serving, add a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil to the center of each bowl of soup. Add another of white wine vinegar. Do not stir. Serve at once.