Featured Recipe: Bread for the World President David Beckmann

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Each week, Recipe for Change will feature a tomato recipe from a guest contributor, to bring awareness to the issue of slavery in America’s tomato fields. Join us this summer in taking action—ask major supermarket chains to endorse the Fair Food Program to establish a zero-tolerance policy for slavery and other serious abuses on Florida’s tomato farms.

This week, we’re excited to feature a tomato recipe from Rev. David Beckmann, President at Bread for the World!

World Food Prize laureate David Beckmann is one of the foremost U.S. advocates for hungry and poor people. He has been President of Bread for the World since 1991, leading large-scale and successful campaigns to strengthen U.S. political commitment to overcome hunger and poverty in the country and globally. Bread for the World is a collective Christian voice urging our nation's decision makers to end hunger at home and abroad. They believe “God's grace in Jesus Christ moves us to help our neighbors, whether they live in the next house, the next state, or the next continent.” Beckmann is also president of Bread for the World Institute, which provides policy analysis on hunger and strategies to end it. He founded and serves as president of the Alliance to End Hunger, which engages diverse U.S. institutions—Christian, Muslim and Jewish groups, corporations, unions, and universities—in building the political will to end hunger. He lives in Virginia, where there are a lot of farmers’ markets!

David Beckmann’s Gazpacho for the Summer

“Other than the heat, for me, nothing marks summer more than a simple gazpacho, a cold soup that has its roots in Andalusia, southern Spain. In fact, gazpacho is Andalusia’s best dish, invented by peasants in the Middle Ages when Islamic monarchs ruled Spain, according to historians…My version cuts out the bread (no carbs!) included in traditional gazpacho. I use apple cider vinegar and fresh tomatoes from the farmers market. This gazpacho takes 20-30 minutes to prepare.  It takes me 30 minutes since I prefer to take out the tomato and cucumber seeds first. If you want a traditional gazpacho, I refer you to my good friend Mark Bittman’s cookbook, How to Cook Everything.*”  – David Beckmann

Ingredients:

• 1 pound fresh organic tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 medium cucumber, diced
• 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 ¼ cups cold water
• Salt and pepper to taste

Steps:

1. Puree cucumbers and tomatoes in a blender, along with the apple cider vinegar, garlic, water and salt and pepper.
2. Add more cold water if the gazpacho is too thick.
3. For more zing, add a little more apple cider vinegar (to taste).
4. Serve, garnished with a little olive oil, a basil leaf, or a sprig of mint. Refrigerate to store.

 Makes 4 servings.

* Be sure to check out Mark Bittman’s delicious bruschetta, which was featured in week two of the Recipe for Change campaign.

Justice Campaigns mobilizes people around the country in support of U.S. policies that will lead to the abolition of human trafficking and modern-day slavery. Join us this summer for Recipe for Change, as we campaign for guaranteed slave-free tomatoes.