This cherry gazpacho is my new favorite summer dish
Fruit is overtaking my family's yard. And I love it.
This year, for instance, I learned just how invasive raspberry plants are. I let them double their footprint on one side of our backyard, and this year's harvest, at its peak, has hit almost 2 pints a day. Every morning of their run I gathered berries as soon as I had my coffee, putting them right in a bowl that I filled with yogurt and granola for breakfast.
Down the fence a ways, the fig tree is finally looking like, well, a tree. In the front yard, the plum tree has grown by leaps and bounds, too — and while this was the first year for a (modest) plum output, the peach tree on the other side of the walkway is on track to match or even outdo last year's stellar yield.
And then there are the cherry trees: two of them, one a little stunted and the other growing nicely. Last year, when a few dozen of the little green orbs began to blush, I started making plans, and watched closely as they got riper and riper by the day. Then one morning, when I went out back, the cherries were gone without a trace. No stems and pits on the ground as evidence of squirrel or bird work. It was as if they had never existed in the first place. Had I just imagined them?
This spring, the larger tree bloomed like it was the Tidal Basin, and when cherries followed, I got to them before the animals did. It wasn't the largest haul — about 2 pounds — but enough for me to freeze in the hopes of baking a pie or two this summer. The issue, though, was that I had somehow neglected to tell my husband, Carl, that these weren't the eat-out-of-hand variety he was hoping for. “They're so tart!” he said. Exactly. For a baker, sour cherries are the way to go, because you can more easily strike whatever sweet-tart balance works for you and your palate.
All this fruit was making my dreams come true just as I was letting my vegetable beds languish, with the excuse that work, parenting and a book project kept me too busy for the planting, watering and weeding the annual plants require. I didn't even manage to get tomato plants in, and now that the weather has turned scorching, I missed my chance.
That means I also missed my opportunity to make one of my go-to tomato dishes: gazpacho, just the easy, flexible, nocook kind of thing I want to eat right now. But just as you can turn sour cherries sweet, you can turn sweet cherries savory. So on a particularly lazy day, when we had grocery-store cherries galore in the refrigerator for snacking on, I thought: Why not gazpacho?
I wish I could tell you that I labored for weeks testing and tweaking this recipe, but the fact is, it came together beautifully with a single swap of cherries for tomatoes. The most time-consuming part was pitting the cherries, but even that takes only 10 minutes or so. (Since my cherry pitter went missing, I've taken to just using my fingers, and I think it might be my fastest method yet.) Then I added what I usually add when I blend up gazpacho: cucumber, red bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt, a little ice for chill. I reserved some of the vegetables for garnish, plus a little mint, drizzled on some olive oil, and gave Carl a taste.
He took a sip, looked at me, and smiled. “We need to have a dinner party,” he said, a sentence that I have never before heard come out of his mouth. “Just so you can make this again.”
We haven't hosted that get-together yet, but I've whipped up the gazpacho again and again, using cherries from the farmers market and from the grocery store — even from the freezer aisle. (They just need a little thawing time, either before or after you make the gazpacho.)
One day, I hope, the gazpacho will get even easier to make. I made Carl a promise. Maybe by next spring, we can get a huge dying tree taken out of our front yard, opening another spot to sunlight, and I'll plant some more cherry trees.
This time, you can bet they'll be sweet.
Cherry Gazpacho
Total time: 30 minutes Serves 4 (makes 4 cups) Deep red sweet cherries lend their color and delectable flavor to this simple gazpacho, inspired by the traditional tomato-based versions in Spain. The most time-consuming part is pitting the fruit, but if you're not worried about temporarily staining your hands (wear an apron!), the easiest way is to just squeeze each cherry with your fingers and manually remove the pit. (If you have a cherry pitter you like, use it.) When cherries aren't in season — or any time you want this to go even more quickly — use frozen ones and skip the ice. This chilled soup makes a delightful first course for a summer dinner.
Make ahead: The cherries can be pitted and refrigerated for up to 3 days before making the soup.
Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds sweet cherries, pitted, divided (see Substitutions)
2 mini cucumbers, peeled and cut into large chunks, divided
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into large chunks, divided 1 garlic clove
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for serving
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus more to taste (see Substitutions)
1/2 teaspoon fine salt, plus more to taste
8 ice cubes (see Notes) Mint leaves, thinly sliced, for garnish (see Substitutions)
Directions
Reserve a handful of the cherries, half of the cucumber chunks and half of the bell pepper chunks for the topping. Slice them as thinly as possible, keeping them in separate piles.
In a blender, combine the remaining cherries, cucumbers, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, water, vinegar, salt and ice and puree until smooth. Taste, and season with more salt and/or vinegar as needed.
Divide the soup among four serving bowls. Top with mint leaves and the reserved cherries, cucumbers and bell pepper. Drizzle with olive oil and serve cold.
Substitutions:
You can use frozen cherries instead of fresh. (See Notes.)
For sherry vinegar, you can substitute red wine vinegar, white wine vinegar or champagne vinegar.
For mint, try basil or Thai basil.
Notes: If using frozen cherries, it's best to defrost them first. If you don't, you might need to add extra water to get the blender blades moving, and it will initially have the thick consistency of a smoothie. To correct that, after blending either briefly microwave the gazpacho on HIGH in 30-second increments, or let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. You probably will not need ice if using frozen cherries.
Nutritional facts per serving (1 cup, plus toppings) | Calories: 357; Fat: 27 g; Saturated Fat: 4 g; Carbohydrates: 30 g; Sodium: 293 mg; Cholesterol: 0 mg; Protein: 2 g; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 23 g