The Summer Soup That’s a Signature of Eitan Bernath’s Grandma Bobbie

Shared by Eitan Bernath
Recipe Roots: Silver Lake, New York > New York City

Grandma Bobbie, late 1960’s.

“When my mom was growing up, it was just her and my grandma,” writes social media star Eitan Bernath in his new cookbook “Eitan Eats the World.” His grandmother Barbara — who goes by Bobbie — was a single mother, fiercely independent, and dedicated to her career. She received a masters in journalism long before it was common for women, Eitan notes, and reported on business, consumer news, and lifestyle topics for 30 years.

“One thing that they didn’t have time for was traveling, so grandma tried to expose my mom to the world through food and cooking,” he adds. Enter gazpacho: a cold summer soup originally from Spain. Bobbie spotted a recipe for the soup in an issue of Cosmopolitan magazine and started to make it, adapting it to her tastes. 

The original magazine clipping was lost long ago but the soup stuck, becoming Bobbie’s signature dish. When Eitan would visit her when he was little or Bobbie would come over when he was growing up in an Orthodox home in north New Jersey, she always had gazpacho on hand. “When I think of grandma Bobbie and food, gazpacho’s definitely the first thing that comes to my mind,” he says. Taking a page from her, Eitan adapted his grandmother’s version, upping the acidity with sherry vinegar. She’s tried Eitan’s version and still prefers hers with a little less tang but, “We can agree to disagree on that,” he says laughing. “[We] love each other nonetheless.”

Gazpacho

Feel free to use fresh tomatoes that are in season for Eitan’s gazpacho during the summer months!

Makes: 4-6 servings
Total Time: 15 minutes

Ingredients
1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
1 Persian cucumber, cut into large pieces
1 red bell pepper, cut into large pieces
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into large pieces
1-2 medium jalapeños, cut into large pieces 
1 small shallot, roughly chopped
¼ cup sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon sugar
1 ½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for serving

Preparation
1. In a high powered blender or food processor, combine all the ingredients, adding salt and black pepper to taste, except for the olive oil. Process until the mixture resembles a chunky salsa. Then, on low speed, slowly stream in the olive oil. Taste and adjust the gazpacho with additional salt, black pepper and/or sugar, as needed.

2. Transfer the mixture to a resealable container and refrigerate until fully chilled, at least 2 hours, Once chilled, divide the mixture among the bowls and top each with a drizzle of olive oil.

Excerpted from Eitan Eats World by Eitan Bernath (Clarkson Potter). Copyright © 2022.