Gazpacho
Last week I made the pilgrimage to Young’s market garden in Māngere to pick tomatoes. Parts of Auckland, especially in the south and west, were once rich in small scale market gardens, many of which offered PYO (pick your own), but as the demand for housing has grown, the gardens have given way to development one by one.
Young’s is hanging on. The Young family has been farming on this tract of land since the 60s, and I’ve been visiting since the 90s, when I’d accompany my mum, who was both a keen gardener and keen shopper at market gardens. Throughout my younger years, we would take Sunday drives all over the isthmus to pick whatever was in season. My fondest memories are of picking peas in the pod from a garden near Ihumātao; we’d pick kilos and kilos then go home to shell them and eat them right away – as sweet and juicy as they were, none ever made it near a pot or pan.
I chatted to Kay who was working the till at Young’s when I visited; her husband Jeremy’s parents have been working the farm for half a century or more and Jeremy and Kay have taken over daily operations to allow them to semi-retire. Along with fields of beefsteak, moneymaker and Roma tomatoes, the farm shop was selling its own pumpkins, watermelons, sweetcorn, broccoli, beans, and garlic. The family also run The Strawberry Farm in Māngere on the other side of the motorway. Here are two wonderful family-run businesses to support while simultaneously nourishing yourself and your loved ones with fresh produce direct from the growers!
For a top-notch gazpacho you can’t go past sun-ripened outdoor tomatoes, so after I’d made a big batch of my mum’s tomato relish with some of my haul, gazpacho was next on the list. The last few times we’ve made gazpacho it leaned too onion-sharp and vinegary, so I sought a recipe where those notes were a little more restrained. The below is based closely on Nagi’s recipe from RecipeTin Eats, but I’ve used a little more olive oil, more garlic, a different vinegar, less cucumber, and added stale sourdough because I do like the addition of bread in this dish.
Ingredients
1 kg ripe tomatoes, core removed, cut into medium size chunks (I used beefsteak)
⅓ telegraph cucumber (about 10cm), peeled and cut into medium size chunks
1 capsicum or mild pepper of any colour, core removed cut into small pieces
3 garlic cloves, chopped
¼ cup red onion, finely diced
¾ cup stale sourdough torn into rough pieces
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 ½ Tbsp peach vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
¾ tsp flaky salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper
To serve
A little extra finely diced cucumber and avocado (optional)
Crusty bread
Good extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
Method
Combine tomatoes, cucumber, capsicum, garlic, red onion, sourdough, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Toss well so everything is coated and the bread starts absorbing the juices. Cover and leave to sit overnight if you can, or at least several hours.
Transfer everything to a blender and blitz until smooth, or use a stick blender. If you prefer a smoother texture you can pass it through a sieve (but I don’t).
Ladle into bowls, and give each portion a stir to remedy any splitting that may occur. Garnish with a scatter of diced cucumber and avocado, a drizzle of your best olive oil, and slices of crusty bread on the side.
Notes
If you can find Spanish white onion, it’s a nice alternative to red onion.
Young’s Tomatoes | 75 Pukaki Rd, Māngere, Auckland
The Strawberry Farm | 127 Kirkbride Rd, Māngere, Auckland
