Tomato Gazpacho with California Ripe Olive Dust

Olive dust

  • 1 can California Ripe olives (black), drained

Tomato Gazpacho

  • 25 vine ripened tomatoes
  • 5 cucumbers
  • 2 red onions
  • 5 bell peppers
  • 3 cloves garlic confit
  • Half bunch of basil
  • Small bunch of cilantro
  • ¾ cup (175 g) extra virgin olive oil
  • ½ cup (125 g) Xeres Sherry vinegar
  • Salt & pepper, to taste
  • Cayenne & tobacco, to taste

Almond foam

  • 1 ½ cups (350 mL) almond milk
  • 13 cloves (40 g) garlic confit
  • 8 g ultra espuma
  • Salt, to taste

Directions

Olive dust

  1. Preheat oven to 250°F. Place olives onto a sheet tray and bake overnight to dry out (approx. 8 hours).
  2. Remove from oven and let cool.
  3. Add dried olives into a food processor, pulse until a soil-like consistency.

Serve sprinkled over soup. Keep excess in fridge for up to one month.

Tomato Gazpacho

  1. Cut the tomatoes in quarters, peel the cucumbers, remove the seeds, and chop them up.
  2. Cut the red onions into julienne strips and sauté them quickly for 10 minutes.
  3. Roast the peppers in the oven until blackened. Place into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Peel the skins off and discard.
  4. Add prepared tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, garlic, herbs and oil to a container and leave to marinate overnight.
  5. The next day, blend everything together and season with S&P. Adjust taste with vinegar, cayenne, and tobacco to your liking.

Almond foam

  1. Combine all ingredients except the ultra espuma and blend until smooth.
  2. Add ultra espuma and blend on low speed for 2 minutes.
  3. Pass through the chinois and put in the siphon gun.
  4. Add two whip cream charges and let rest for 1 hour before use.

Serve with gazpacho.

Recipe by:

Chef Keith Pears

Keith Pears is the Executive Chef at the W Toronto, the city’s first ever W Hotel. Opened in the Yorkville neighborhood on July 21, 2022. Hailing from Vancouver and born into a family of chefs, Keith was destined to become immersed in the culinary field from a young age. After enrolling in culinary school at the age of 19, Keith quickly developed his skills in the kitchen and worked his way up the ranks throughout the years to master his craft. In 2017, he moved to Toronto to take on the title of Executive Chef at Delta’s flagship hotel, Delta Toronto. Keith is also no stranger to competition, and he has the resume to prove it. Not only does Keith have experience competing in renowned culinary events like Best of the West, Gold Metal Plates, Bocuse d’Or National Selection, Garland International Shellfish Chef Challenge, but he has also achieved great success while doing so, winning B.C. Chef of the Year, Food Network’s Chopped Canada, and Canada’s Great Kitchen Party in Toronto.