Gazpacho -- saved by the soup

It's been so unbearably hot here in Boston, that we've been stuck at home eating cold soups. Since I am from Moscow, this hot weather does not sit well with me. You can always put on more clothes when it's cold, but you can only take off so much when it's hot. The good news is that any nasty weather (hot or cold) can be combated with soup, or at least I'd like to think that. As soon as the last bowl of cold borsh disappeared, I made a huge batch of gazpacho to hold us over until the weather gets better and I can consider turning on the stove again.

I can't believe I've had this blog for almost 2 years and never wrote about gazpacho. It is my most requested recipe! The thing is, it's not actually my recipe. I got it from the class I took with Didi Emmons, the chef/owner of Veggie Planet in Harvard Square. It's in her book, Entertaining for a Veggie Planet under the name "Top Dog Gazpacho." I am not big on cookbooks, but this one is really fantastic -- not only are the recipes very creative, they actually work! With other books, I find myself modifying recipes until they are barely recognizable to suit my taste, but this gazpacho, as most of Didi's recipes, is so fabulous that I only made one itsy bitsy little change (sorry I couldn't resist). I don't blanch the corn kernels. In the summer, when I make this soup, the corn is so sweet and delicious, it's best to add it raw to give your soup that extra sweet and juicy crunch.

My Adaptation of Didi Emmons' Gazpacho

Serves 4

1/3 cup whole almonds, skin on (if possible buy them toasted)
4 ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 orange, red, or yellow bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
a generous handful of fresh cilantro (you really can't use too much)
1 garlic clove, chopped
2 1/2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 ears corn
Salt and pepper to taste
hot sauce to taste

1. If you bought your almonds raw, sorry -- you'll have to preheat the oven. But if the heat it really outrageous, I am sure nothing terrible would happen if you just used raw almonds. Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread the almonds in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Set aside to cool.
2. In a food processor, process the almonds until finely chopped. Add tomatoes, bell peppers, cilantro, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil and pulse until consistency of an oatmeal (almost pureed, but not quite). Transfer to a large bowl.
   
3. Cut the corn kernels off the cobs and add to soup.
4. Add up to 1 cup cold water if the soup is too thick for your liking. Season the gazpacho with salt, pepper, and hot sauce. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 2 hours. If you are impatient like me, you can speed up the chilling process by adding ice-cubes to soup instead of water.