Our Harvest Kitchen Food Service Manager, Chef Sean Kontos, loves sharing some of his recipes for the home cook.
“It’s at this point in the summer that we have an abundance of tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers — and one of my favorite things to do with this excess is make gazpacho for these hot, humid days. The beauty of this soup is that so many late-summer fruits and veggies can be substituted to enhance the recipe or make an interesting twist.
Sometimes I take out some of the tomatoes and add watermelon… or I substitute the cucumbers for zucchini or summer squash (which has a lot of pectin, so the body of the soup turns out really nice)… The possibilities are truly endless!”
Try This from Chef Sean!
Tomato Gazpacho
Ingredients
1-1/2 lb. tomatoes — try different types of locally grown tomatoes!
1/2 lb. cucumbers — skin on, seeded
2 oz. jalapeños — seeded if you prefer less spicy
1 tsp. fresh cilantro — roughly chopped
1 tsp. whole black peppercorns
1/4 tsp. smoked chili powder
1/2 c. olive oil
3 Tbsp. rice wine vinegar
salt — to taste
PLUS
1/3 lb. cucumbers — seeded and diced small
2 oz. jalapeños — seeded and diced small
Instructions
- Roughly chop the tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers and mix them together with the cilantro and spices.
- In a blender, blend that mixture with the olive oil and vinegar until very smooth.
- Transfer to a bowl and add chopped cucumber and jalapeño, and salt to taste.
About Chef Sean Kontos
Sean is a native of Dover, NH, who has been working in the food service industry for 13 years. After graduating from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in culinary arts in 2011, he went on to cook around Nantucket and the seacoast of New Hampshire, focusing on local and sustainable cooking particularly tied to whole animal butchery. After backpacking through Europe, he and his now wife moved to Providence where he worked at Local 121, eventually becoming head chef. Most recently, he helped open Farm & Coast Market in South Dartmouth, MA, as a butcher and chef. Sean started out as a volunteer with our RI Farm to School program until moving on to work with Harvest Kitchen. Today he is an important part of our team, playing a major role in our local foods café, crafting our seasonal menu, and bringing skill and expertise to our operations.
