Gazpacho a la Mexicana

When my mother was newly widowed, my sisters and I encouraged her to take a trip to Spain with people her age and that is how she came to visit that country for the first time. Our mother, with her youthful and positive attitude was soon the star of the traveling group and the tour guide's pet. Speaking Spanish certainly was a plus; she was the one septuagenarian in the group who was linguistically and culturally independent.  She returned from this month long trip full of stories of her adventures in Spain.

One day, a few months after she had returned, we sat on her bed, chatting about the trip as we went through brochures of places in Spain she had visited. Among the piles of papers was a recipe typed with a Royal typewriter on onion skin paper.  A recipe for gazpacho. I wish I could remember what she told me that day about the exact circumstances in which she was given this recipe by a waiter in a restaurant.

The truth is, my mother always had a way of inspiring people to do things for her. Apparently, as best I can recall, my mother had so much enjoyed this gazpacho—something she had tasted for the first time in Spain—that she had asked the waiter how it was made. The waiter, an old gentleman, disappeared long enough to type out the recipe and proudly hand it to her. I still have the original copy of the recipe.

For me, also, it was the first time I had eaten gazpacho and I found it to be such a perfect way to blend the bounty of summer into one fresh taste. My husband adores this, but when he's not around, I add chile to it (He doesn't tolerate chiles.) to give it a bit of Mexican flavor.

Gazpacho a la Mexicana

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Recipe Type: appetiser, soup

Author: Gilda Valdez Carbonaro

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 5 medium tomatoes or an equivalent quantity of cherry tomatoes (they're sweeter)


• 1 quarter medium yellow or red onion


• 1 large peeled cucumber (save the other half for garnish)


• 1/2 of a red bell pepper


• 1 clove garlic


• 2 slices old French bread


• Jalapeño or serrano pepper added as needed


• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (the best quality you have)


• 2 tbls white vinegar (or more if you prefer)


• Sea salt to taste

Instructions

1. Blend all the ingredients starting first with the tomatoes, then the bell pepper and garlic


2. Add the oil and vinegar and then the rest of the ingredients.


3. Serve chilled with garnish of chopped, sliced, cucumbers, fresh corn kernels, and croutons sprinkled on top of each bowl of gazpacho.