Tomato-Cherry Gazpacho
Author: Nicole
Ingredients
  • 2-1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
  • ½ pound sweet cherries, pitted and halved (~ 20 cherries)
  • 1 small Italian frying pepper, stemmed, seeded and roughly chopped
  • 1 cup (~ 5 ounces) salted Marcona almonds (see Notes)
  • ½ medium red onion, roughly chopped
  • 4 cloves roasted garlic or 1 clove fresh garlic (see Notes)
  • ¼ cup flavorful extra-virgin olive oil
  • ¼ cup sherry vinegar
  • Fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Garnish: ½ cup of loosely packed basil, cut chiffonade style or torn
Instructions
  1. In a large bowl, toss tomatoes, cherries, Italian pepper, almonds, red onion, garlic, vinegar, olive oil and a very generous pinch each of salt and pepper. Let gazpacho base stand at room temperature for 2 hours to marinate.
  2. Working in batches if needed, in a food processor, blender or Vitamix, purée the gazpacho base until very smooth, about 2 minutes.
  3. Transfer to another large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
  4. Before serving, season gazpacho with salt, adding a few tablespoons of water if too thick.
  5. Ladle into bowls and top with a few pieces of basil.
  6. Keeps 2 to 3 days, refrigerated.
Notes
* If you don’t have Marcona almonds, use the same amount of blanched almonds. Place them on a small baking sheet and toast them at 350°F for about 5 to 7 minutes – watching them carefully so they do not burn. Let cool before adding them to the soup ingredients.
* If you have time, I recommend making roasted garlic. See Provençal Herb Roasted Garlic for a recipe. It’s okay if some herbs get into the soup or you can make it without any herbs.
Recipe by Riegl Palate at https://www.rieglpalate.com/tomato-cherry-gazpacho/