2 medium cucumbers, peeled, halved lengthwise and seeded
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
2 medium green bell peppers, cored, seeded and quartered lengthwise
6 firm ripe tomatoes (2 pounds), stemmed, peeled, cored and quartered
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups (720ml) tomato juice
1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Insert slicing disc (of food processor...which I've never used to make an entire recipe like this...I've had it for about 12 years too...it was awesome!). Cut each cucumber section in half lengthwise again, then crosswise, to get 16 pieces in all, each about 3 inches long. Stand them in feed tube vertically. Slice in 2 batches. Transfer to 6-quart mixing bowl.
Insert metal blade and pulse-chop onion until medium-fine, about 4 pulses. Add to cucumbers.
Pulse-chop peppers until medium-fine, about 6 times. Add to mixing bowl.
Pulse-chop 3 tomatoes to chop coarsely, about 5 pulses. Add to mixing bowl. Repeat with 2 more tomatoes, saving remaining tomato for later use.
Turn on machine and drop garlic through feed tube. Process until coarsely chopped. Scrape work bowl and add the 4 remaining tomato quarters. Process into a purée.
Add to mixing bowl.
Add remaining ingredients to mixing bowl and stir well to mix. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 3 hours before serving. Adjust seasoning if necessary.
Makes about 2-1/2 quarts (2.5L).
This made for great lunches well into the week!
Before taking over the Citrus Étoile, in the Eighth Arrondissement, Mr. Epié ran the Los Angeles restaurant L’Orangerie for more than three years. He remembered with distaste the strictness of American health rules about food.
“My fish shop in Santa Monica smelled like a pharmacy” instead of like fresh fish, he said. “And when I asked for a three-month-old baby lamb, like you can find here, they thought I was crazy and nearly called the police.”
