Cybele Pascal

Late summer is golden cherry tomato season. Two varieties are showing up at my local market; Sungold Cherry Tomatoes (tiny rich golden round ones) and Yellow Pear Cherry Tomatoes (slightly paler yellow and pear shaped). Both are sweet, tangy and gorgeous.  I look forward to them all year long, and my favorite way to eat them (other than popping them directly into my mouth!) is in this elegant Golden Gazpacho. This soup is inspired by Ana Sortun’s Golden Gazpacho with Condiments from her brilliant cookbook Spice. When I served this last Sunday at a BBQ, my guests asked, “Why isn’t all gazpacho like this?”

I’ve adapted the recipe to be gluten-free, allergy-friendly, and vegan. I’ve also adjusted the seasonings, since I find Ana’s salt threshold and mine astronomically different. (She loves lots of salt!)

If you aren’t vegan and not allergic to eggs, add two hardboiled eggs to the garnishes. Use a microplane, or the finest side of a box cutter to grate the eggs into “jimmies”, then toss with salt and pepper, and chill till ready to serve.

Golden Cherry Tomato Gazpacho

Makes 8 Servings

• 4 pints golden cherry tomatoes (Sungold or Yellow Pear, or a combo)
• 1 cup allergy-friendly white bread*, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/4 cup sherry vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon curry powder
• 1 tablespoon fine sea salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups sparkling mineral water
• 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 English cucumber, finely diced
• 1/2 red onion, finely diced
• allergy-friendly croutons (recipe follows)
• fresh chives, snipped

1. Sort tomatoes, tossing any bad ones, and pinching off stems. Rinse well and drain.

2. Toast bread cubes about 2 minutes, until just turning golden, but not browned. Let cool to room temperature.

3. In two batches, using a blender, puree tomatoes, bread cubes, olive oil, vinegar, turmeric, curry powder, salt, a few turns of freshly ground pepper, and mineral water. Puree until smooth and frothy. Pour into a large bowl.

4. Set a fine sieve or very fine strainer over a second large bowl. Slowly pour in the soup, using the back of a large spoon or pestle to push all the liquid through. Really mash the pulp against the strainer. You may have to stir the pulp around to get all the liquid to strain through. Don’t be shy about this, you don’t want to waste a drop. I do this process in two batches, discarding the pulp halfway through and refilling the strainer.

5. Cover the soup and chill at least an hour or two.

6. Serve chilled, accompanied by garnishes, for diners to add individually to their bowls.

Allergy-Friendly Croutons

Makes 3 cups

• 6 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• 5 heaping cups allergy-friendly * white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 8 slices, preferably stale)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine olive oil, salt, and a few turns freshly ground pepper in a small bowl, whisking well to combine.

2. Put bread cubes in a large bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil mixture, tossing gently with a rubber spatula. Use the rubber spatula to scrape out all the oil mixture onto the bread cubes. Once tossed to coat evenly, transfer bread cubes to a baking tray, evenly spaced into a single layer. Bake 20-25 minutes, using a spatula to turn the croutons once halfway through baking, until lightly golden and dry. Note that staler bread will bake more quickly, since it has less moisture to bake out. Transfer croutons from oven to a wire cooling rack, and let cool to room temperature.

* For gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, soy-free bread, look for Udi’s, Rudi’s, or Kinnikinnick. For Allergy-friendly bread that is gluten-free and free of the top-8-allergens, look for Ener-G. I am fond of their tapioca bread, in particular.

Print Friendly