GRILLED GAZPACHO

The grill is outside of my sphere of influence in our household, so honestly, I’ve never made this. It is a bit of work (according to James) so I only request it for dinner parties or when I’m really craving it. But the grilled vegetables in this version of Gazpacho make it a thing I crave every summer. James has adapted this from Chris Schlesinger’s – he’s written tons of grilling bibles and was a chef at one of our favorite restaurant’s in Boston, the East Coast Grill, where they grill everything. This time, he added in a roasted poblano pepper – a new farmer at the Santa Monica FM at Va. Park roasts them onsite. I think it added a whole new dimension of richness.
As it is my improvisational husband doing the cooking, the following measurements are approximate.

10-12 medium tomatoes, halved
4 small zucchini, halved
2 peppers (red, yellow or orange) seeded and cut into eighths
1 medium red or Vidalia onion peeled and sliced about 1 inch thick

2 peeled and seeded cucumbers
1 large garlic clove
1 roasted poblano pepper, seeded (optional)

¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
3 T dark balsamic vinegar
¼ tsp cayenne pepper

tomato juice or V-8 to thin

Grill first four ingredients: tomatoes about 2 minutes each side, zucchini till lightly charred on each side, peppers skin side down till blackened all over, onion till lightly charred on each side. Cool, and then peel tomatoes and peppers.

Put onion and garlic clove in food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add pepper, zucchini and cucumber and pulse until very finely chopped. Add peeled tomatoes and pulse until they are pureed, about one minute. Pour into a large bowl and add vinegars, oil, cayenne and salt and pepper to taste. Thin with juice to desired consistency. Chill.

You can grill a few extra vegetables and reserve them for garnish on top of soup. Avocado slices and a dollop of sour cream are also nice.