gazpacho, from inspiring tomatoes….

When the bins at the farmer’s market are filled with plump, glossy, beautifully irregular, meaty heirloom tomatoes, versatile, flavorful, spicy gazpacho immediately comes to mind.

Have you ever had gazpacho For breakfast or brunch? It’s quite satisfying when you heat it just enough to poach eggs in the flavorful brew and top it with feta and ribbons of basil.

Of course it makes a lovely, cool lunch, served with slices of pan toasted french bread, topped with a fried goat cheese medallion, or a great starter to any dinner.

The trick to really great gazpacho is to allow the soup base to marinate for a day or two to intensify the blend of flavors. The broth and final garnishes can be made in about 1/2 hour before you are ready to serve this fresh, zesty soup.

Ingredients:

Soup base (to be marinated):

3 large heirloom tomatoes

3 stalks celery

4 small to medium cucumbers

1 small fennel bulb

1 jalapeno pepper, seeded

5 cloves garlic, chopped

⅓ cup chopped basil

Juice of 2 lemons

4 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon celery seed

1 teaspoon fennel seed

Soup broth:

1 cup strained tomatoes (store bought)

5 cups bottled tomato juice

2 tablespoons pick-a-pepper sauce

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

½ cup olive oil

Juice and zest from a lemon

medium Fresh ground pepper (about 3 turns of the pepper mill, grind)

Garnish:

1 avocado, cubed

5 green onions, thinly sliced

10 basil leaves, chiffonnade

2 tablespoons olive oil

Crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Soup base: Roughly chop the tomatoes, celery, cucumbers, fennel and jalapeno and put them in a large bowl. Add to the vegetables the chopped garlic, basil, lemon juice and salt. Allow to marinate overnight or for up to 2 days in the refrigerator.

Before you are ready to serve the gazpacho {several to 1/2 hour prior} you can pour the “soup base” into a large container and add the “soup broth ingredients” and pureé it to your liking. Keep it cool until you are ready to serve it.

Or scoop equal parts of the base and broth into a blender and blend to desired smoothness.

Stir avocado cubes into soup.

Top soup with green onion slices and basil and crumbled feta. Drizzle swirls of olive on the surface of the soup.

We loved the gazpacho presentation at dinner at Le Tilleul, in the charming hilltown of St. Paul de Vence recently. Along side the glass of gazpacho, they offered a small crudite in a herb dip.

At the bottom of each glass of gazpacho, they had a layer of garlic-herbed creamy white cheese. While I found the garlic and herb flavors in the cheese to be somewhat overpowering, I think a layer of chevre or fresh mozzarella would offer a nice, complementary flavor and texture to the soup.