Chilled Out, Fired Up

Cold Beef and Tomato Gazpacho with Charred Bell Pepper Halves

55 minutes
Serves 4
DinnerSpanish
Herb's take

This Spanish-inspired dinner brings together two temperature extremes: a silky, chilled tomato and beef gazpacho with smoky, grilled bell pepper halves. You'll learn how consomme clarity, grilling, and cold soup can play nice together for a dinner that's as sophisticated as it is refreshing.

Equipment needed
  • Dutch oven
  • grill
  • food processor
  • blender
  • fine-mesh strainer

Ingredients

Yield
4

Instructions

  1. 01
    Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the beef cubes in a single layer and brown on all sides, about 6 minutes.
  2. 02
    Add onion and garlic to the pot; sauté until fragrant and translucent, about 3 minutes.
  3. 03
    Stir in tomatoes and cook until they start to break down and release juice, 5 minutes.
  4. 04
    Pour in beef broth and bring to a lively simmer. Cook uncovered for 18–20 minutes until beef is fully cooked and tomatoes are soft.
  5. 05
    Remove from heat. Use a slotted spoon to transfer beef cubes to a bowl; let cool.
  6. 06
    Pour the tomato mixture through a fine-mesh strainer into a large bowl, pressing solids to extract as much liquid as possible. Reserve the liquid for the gazpacho base; discard or save solids for another use.
  7. 07
    In a food processor, pulse the cooled beef with 1/4 cup of the strained liquid to shred. Set aside.
  8. 08
    Wipe bell pepper halves dry and brush both sides with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Grill over high heat, skin side down, for 5 minutes until charred and softened but still holding shape. Flip and grill 2 more minutes.
  9. 09
    In a blender, combine reserved tomato-beef consomme, cucumber, red wine vinegar, parsley, smoked paprika, and sugar. Blend until very smooth, about 1 minute.
  10. 10
    Stir in the shredded beef. Taste gazpacho and season with salt and pepper as needed. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
  11. 11
    To serve, ladle chilled beef gazpacho into shallow bowls. Nestle a warm grilled bell pepper half alongside each serving and garnish with extra parsley. Offer slices of crusty bread for dunking.

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