Well it’s summer in New York City, which means time for sweltering temperatures and unused ovens. In honor of our most recent heat wave, I threw together a huge batch of fresh and cold tomato gazpacho. I pulled out a recipe from my big red America’s Test Kitchen Family Cookbook, and hauled down the food processor. A quick mix of chopped cucumbers, tomatoes, red peppers, onions and garlic with tomato juice, vinegar (I used the champagne variety, since that’s what I had in the cabinet), Tabasco sauce and pepper and then a few hours of chilling time in the fridge were all that was required.
I served the soup with some chopped cilantro, avocado and crumbled feta cheese, and it was crisp and very flavorful. My husband and I rounded out the meal with a crusty baguette and a wedge of goat’s milk cheese from West River Creamery in Londonderry, VT. An aged tomme with a dark, crinkly rind, the cheese is made on a 200 acre farm which produces goat and cow’s milk cheeses. We purchased this wedge at the Dorset Farmer’s Market. Yum!