|
1 1/2 pounds tomatos 5 or 6 cloves garlic 1 red onion 1 small cucumber 1 very mild Anaheim pepper (or green bell pepper, if preferred) 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley 4 tablespoons chopped fresh basil 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro 1/3 cup lemon juice salt and pepper to taste*
Now the attention to detail: Get the BEST fresh tomatos you can find. Farmers' market, organic-food store, neigbor's garden- whatever it takes. You want the ones that will have your entire car smelling like tomatos by the time you get home- do NOT settle for less!
Peel the tomatos; cut the ends off the cucumber and slice it lengthwise; then take all the tomato and cucumber innards and REMOVE the SEEDS.
I dump the guts into a wire strainer and push them through by hand to seperate the seeds out. Toss the seeds, save the rest.
Quarter the pepper, discard stem and seeds.
Peel the garlic, and flatten it with whatever blunt object is handy.
Then everything goes in the food processor until it looks like gazpacho, then into the fridge in a sealed container for at LEAST 6 hours, preferably overnight. That standing period is VERY important- you can't rush it.
I don't actually own a food processor myself, just a blender, and it has a bad habit of over-liquifying things. So I carefully mix in several small batches, AND I set aside: 1 whole tomato 1/4 of the onion and anaheim pepper 1/3 of the cucumber 1/2 the fresh parsley, basil, and cilantro And then I dice them by hand just as small as I can get them, and add them back into the blended mix. *SALT and PEPPER I recommend using LESS salt than you think it needs initially, then tasting it again after it has stood overnight, and adjusting if it needs it.
And for the pepper, if you can find some whole Green Madgascar peppercorns and grind them yourself, I really recommend it. It's a light, spicy peppercorn which is ideal for cold dishes, IMHO.
And P.S: NO METAL BOWLS. That's a big no-no for the tomatos, unless you want them to taste like a tin can.
|