Sun Gold Tomato Gazpacho
Gazpacho
1 cup cold water
2 medium garlic cloves, crushed and peeled
1/4 cup coarsely chopped onion
2 pounds ripe Sun Gold or other yellow cherry tomatoes, stemmed and halved, any juices reserved
1 English cucumber, peeled
1 large yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and cut into large pieces
1 red bell pepper
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon piment d Espelette
Kosher Salt
Freshly ground pepper
3/4 to 1 cup extra virgin olive oil, as needed
2 tablespoons minces chives
Pour the water into a large bowl and add the garlic and onion. Reserve 1 cup of tomatoes for the garnish, and add the remaining tomatoes and their juices to the bowl.
Peel the cucumbers. If using Armenian cucumbers, cut 1 cucumber lengthwise in half, put cut side down on the cutting surface, and cut into large half circles. If using an English cucumber, cut it lengthwise in half and scrape out the seedy centers, then cut one half into large half circles. Add the sliced cucumbers to the tomatoes. Add the yellow pepper and let all the vegetables marinate, tossing once or twice, for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the remaining cucumber into small dice for garnish. Core, seed, and finely dice the red pepper for garnish. Refrigerate until serving.
Transfer the vegetables, with their marinade, to a blender and, starting on low speed and then increasing the speed, blend until completely smooth. Strain through a fine-mesh conical strainer into a bowl. (If you have trouble passing the soup through the strainer, blend it again. Only the tomato skins should remain in the strainer).
Rinse out the blender jar and return the strained tomato mixture to it. Add the vinegar and Espelette, season with salt and white pepper to taste, and blend to combine. With the blender running on medium-high speed, gradually add the oil, blending until the gazpacho is velvety smooth. Taste and add additional vinegar and/or Espelette if desired. Refrigerate the gazpacho until cold, or for up to 2 days.
If the gazpacho has separated into two layers, pour it into the blender and blend to recombine. Pour the gazpacho into a large serving bowl and garnish with a sprinkling of the diced red pepper and cucumber, a few tomato halves, and some of the chives. Serve the remaining garnishes in small bowls on the side.
