And the best gazpacho is.....the Challenger!!!

For this week's challenge it only seemed logical to have Ellen and Linda be our judges.  Ellen is a bonafide, true vegan and Linda is quite a gourmet cook.  Connie, Ellen, and Linda started their friendship in a metalsmithing class (that is another story!) and progressed to monthly outings usually involving field trips, food, and the (occasional) glass of wine.

On a beautiful summer day we met at one of our favorite restaurants where Connie discreetly passed bags of gazpacho and accompaniments to our judges for them to take home and taste.

                                                             Linda and Ellen

First up, Betty's gazpacho:

                                                                 Betty's Gazpacho

One thing that we've learned through our weeks of doing this cook-off:  Bruce has a hard time sticking to the recipe!  His creative juices get to flowing, and he wants to deviate big time.  So, that works fine when he's the Challenger because he can adapt the recipe at-will, however when it comes time for him to follow Betty's recipe....different story.  For this recipe, it called for lemon juice and since we didn't have any lemons (and Bruce didn't want to make his 15th trip to the grocery store that evening) he decided that Betty would have used bottled lemon juice.   Connie suspects that is why Linda commented as she did about Betty's dish.

Here's what she said:  "I liked this one, but something about it was a bit off...like it had an oil that was stale or something.  With a bit of sugar...it might have won with me".

Next up:  The Challenger's Gazpacho:

                                                         The Challenger's Gazpacho

Again, Linda had one constructive criticism:  "It was a bit salty for me.  I'm pretty sure it's the Betty Crocker one (wrong, Linda) because it tastes just like the old recipe I used to make...so I have to go with this one as this week's winner".

And, perhaps Ellen summarized this week's contest best:  "For me, it was hands down the Challenger's Gazpacho.  It was chunkier and more flavorful for my taste buds"!

So...lessons learned this week:  when a recipe calls for lemon juice, use the real thing.  And, as the ancient Romans used to say...if you need to take a drink when you eat gazpacho, you've added too much salt!"


The Current Scorecard
Betty:                          3
The Challenger:         2

Moving on to.....Gazpacho

Since Connie primarily eats vegetables (and some seafood), gazpacho is one of her favorite Spring/Summer dishes.  After the rhubarb debaucle, we decided to work with something we know and love:  tomatoes!

Now, for a quick history lesson on the origins of gazpacho:

This popular soup from the Andalusian area , (an autonomous community of Spain), mostly known now for being served cold, has many different influences from Greece and Rome, but also from the Moor's and Arab culture.

The original soup was blended stale bread, olive oil and garlic, with some liquid like water or vinegar that was pounded together in a mortar. Different vegetables and almonds that were available were also added.

This soup evolved into different varieties, the most popular around the world is a tomato based variety, served cold. It is often served heated in certain regions in Spain.

Now Gazpacho has become a generic term for a cold soup that has a vegetable or fruit base or both , that has similar spices to the traditional.

While it was common for Roman soldiers to carry dried bread, garlic and vinegar to make the basics of this early soup, it was Christopher Columbus who changed the dynamics of gazpacho.  Christopher Columbus probably took this soup with him on his voyages from Spain. When he brought back tomatoes, cucumbers and different peppers that is when the soup evolved to it's present state.

Now all kinds of things are added such as watermelon and cantaloupe.

Betty's Gazpacho (prepared by Bruce) from her 1988 cookbook:

1 1/2 cups tomato juice

  1/2  cup chopped cucumber

  1/2  cup chopped green pepper

  1/2  cup chopped onion

     2  tablespoons lemon juice

     1  tablespoon vegetable oil

  1/2  teaspoon salt

  1/4  teaspoon red pepper sauce

     2  tomatoes, chopped

  

Accompaniments:  About 1/2 cup each chopped cucumber, green pepper and onion and 1 cup seasoned croutons

Place all ingredients except Accompaniments in blender container.  Cover and blend on medium speed until smooth.  Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours.  Serve with Accompaniments.  8 appetizer servings.  65 calories per serving.

 

 

The Challenger's Version (prepared by Connie):

As shown in the recipe

Makes six servings.

Ingredients

• 2 Roma (plum) tomatoes, quartered
• 1 large cucumber, peeled and halved
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 1 cup green bell pepper, diced
• 1 (4 ounce) jar diced pimento peppers, drained
• 2 (12 fluid ounce) cans tomato juice
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 cup croutons
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

Directions

1. In a blender combine one tomato, half the cucumber, half the onion, a green bell pepper quarter, the pimento and 1/2 cup tomato juice. Blend at high speed for 30 seconds to puree the vegetables.
2. In a large bowl mix the pureed vegetables with remaining tomato juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, salt and ground black pepper. Cover mixture and refrigerate until it is well chilled (about 2 hours).
3. Meanwhile saute the croutons in oil and add the garlic; transfer to a small bowl.
4. Mix remaining chopped tomato, cucumber, onion and green bell pepper with the pureed vegetables. Serve soup in chilled bowls, garnish with chives and croutons as accompaniments.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 167 | Total Fat: 12.9g | Cholesterol: 0mg

One more important thing to know:  According to our research, if you need to have a beverage with gazpacho, then there is too much salt in the recipe.

 

So...who do you think will win this week's Gazpacho Cook-off????