Fourth of July feast

They say that imitation is the best form of flattery. Screw imitation, I prefer out-and-out idea-theft. As in, I volunteered at the Fancy Food Show a couple of weeks ago, snagged a great gazpacho recipe from a top tapas restaurant, and passed it off on my own table for some friends on the Fourth of July.

Gazpacho, a Spanish soup made with tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and other vegetables, is easily one of my favorite soups (second only to that other cold soup, vichyssoise). To make it the “real” way, you are supposed to grind the vegetables using a mortar and pestle, and use soaked bread and olive oil to finish it. The authentic version is damned good, but I just use a blender and have dabbled with several variations over the years.

I once tried a habanero gazpacho, and forgot to wear gloves while handling the nuclear chilis. Result: some nasty burns near my eye when I scratched and itch there with my juice-covered hand. I made a pretty good watermelon gazpacho a few years ago that I should probably revisit. And now I have Mercat, an East Village tapas restaurant, to credit with a beet and strawberry gazpacho.

Beet and Strawberry Gazpacho
2 beets
8 strawberries, washed and sliced
3 tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cucumbers, peeled and chopped (plus some small dice for garnish)
½ carrot
1 red pepper, roasted and skin removed
3 celery stalks
1 white onion
Sherry or red wine vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil

Wash the beets, place in sauce pot, cover with cold water and bring to a boil, simmering until tender. Remove the beets when cool enough to handle, skin them and chop. Chop up the other vegetables. For the red pepper, put it over a burner on the stove to char the skin. Make sure it turns black all over, but take care that it doesn’t turn gray—a sign that you’ve potentially made the vegetable into a carcinogen.

Blend all the ingredients, with a dash of vinegar (the recipe calls for sherry but I cheaped out and used red wine) and a little olive oil. Season it if necessary. I thought the mixture was a little thick, so I put it through the fine-mesh strainer (or chinoise) and use a ladle to push out the liquid. Then I returned about ½ of the remaining pulp to the liquid and gave it a quick stir.

Refrigerate the mixture, and serve cold, with some croutons, small diced cucumber and thinly sliced strawberry. Drink copious amounts of beer and sit outside to enjoy sun.