dave’s gazpacho

From Dave Herman: This is one of my summer go-tos. I got the recipe from the wife of an ex-girlfriend's business associate we visited outside of Sevilla on a trip to Spain in the late '90s & she told us in Andalusia everyone always has a pitcher in their refrigerator there to sip from in the heat of the afternoon. It's also about the easiest thing you could make.

Ingredients
2 pounds ripe tomatoes*
8 ounces cucumber, peeled  (1 regular cucumber, or approx. ½ English cucumber)
3 ounces green pepper, seeded (approx. ½ “normal” bell pepper, but size varies widely)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Roughly cut all vegetables (make sure to save all liquid from the tomatoes). In a blender, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic and sherry vinegar and blend until liquefied (putting tomatoes in first helps). Taste for acidity. If it's not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil, season with salt, and blend again. Refrigerate until thoroughly chilled. Can be made & refrigerated a day in advance.

It’s most traditional to strain the gazpacho into a pitcher and serve in juice glasses for sipping, but I prefer to leave the pulp even to sip it from a glass. And with the pulp you can serve it in a bowl (great with the addition of croutons & a drizzle of olive oil).

*Because it’s all about the tomatoes, I prefer to use heirlooms & never make it unless I have great tomatoes.