Gazpacho with coffee glazed bacon

GAZPACHO WITH COFFEE GLAZED BACON

Porcijas: 4-6 Laiks kopā: 25 min

For soup:

1270 gr tomatoes (better ripened ones)

210 gr cucumbers

1 onion (small or 1/2 medium)

1 red bell pepper (large)

1 chili pepper (very small)

1 garlic clove

45 gr celery stalk

Cilantro leaves from 1-2 stems

Parsley leaves from 2-3 stems

1 large handful of basil leaves

5 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)

2 tbsp lemon juice

1/4 tsp cumin (ground)

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

For bacon:

400 gr bacon

200 ml coffee (strong)

2 tbsp maple syrup

pinch of pepper and salt

olive oil (for frying)

For serving/decorations:

~ 10 cherry tomatoes

1/2 yellow bell pepper

1 small cucumber

Basil leaves

For soup:

Cut tomatoes, cucumbers (unpeeled) & onion into slightly smaller pieces to make them easier to grind in a food processor;
Cut bell pepper into ~4-6 pieces & clean it from seeds;
Cut chili pepper in a half and clean it from seeds;
In a food processor add sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, bell pepper, chili pepper, as well as garlic clove and celery stalk. Blend everything really well until you reach smooth soup consistency (if your food processor is not large enough, you can divide these ingredients in half and grind in two passes, pouring the contents of the first container into a larger bowl or pot);
Add cilantro, parsley and basil leaves, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, salt and black pepper. Blend everything;
After everything is nicely blend, place soup liquid into the refrigerator and cool it really well (this soup tastes best when it is very cold). If you don’t want to wait, you can add a couple of ice cubes to the soup.

For bacon:

Cut bacon into narrow, small strips;
Pour the oil into the pan, heat it and then place bacon in a pan. Cook for a bit (till the point it is no longer raw);
Then pour in coffee and maple syrup, sprinkle everything with a little bit of pepper and salt. Cook bacon until the coffee completely evaporates from the pan – at that point bacon should also be pleasantly dark and caramelized;
Cover dining plate or some tray with a paper towel and transfer the meat on it to drain excess oil and fat.

Serving:

To give this soup an extra texture, layers and colors (because I believe that food is tastier, if it is also visually designed, and here you can play with different color tomatoes & peppers) – cut cherry tomatoes into 4 pieces, cut cucumbers and bell peppers into really small cubes and chop basil leaves;
Pour chilled gazpacho in a soup plate and sprinkle with sliced cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and basil. Finish plating with a coffee glazed bacon.