Almond Gazpacho, Weekend in a French Kitchen

Gazpacho.  One of my favorite summer soups.  That and vichyssoise.  I'm one who could pretty much live on soup.  My mouth is watering as I'm typing this so please pardon me while I run fix myself a bowl of gazpacho for breakfast...   Ahhh, now that was good.  I always make my gazpacho by taking two-thirds of the veggies and pulsing them in the food processor with just a little bit of beef base.  Those get mixed with tomato juice, Clamato or V8 depending on my mood - and my pantry.  Then, I add in a bit of Tabasco and some extra virgin olive oil.  The other third is very finely diced and put into a separate storage container.  When I serve the gazpacho, I ladle some of the soup into a bowl, top it with a big handful of the diced veggies and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the top.  One of our guests at a dinner party this past week declared it the best gazpacho he'd ever had.  The original recipe came from a cookbook called Indianapolis Cooks and Collects.

Here's what it looks like: 

Needless to say, I was entranced when I saw almond gazpacho on the Weekend in a French Kitchen recipe schedule.  Really?  Almond?  As I'm typing this, I'm recalling that one of the articles (yet to be fully read) in a New York Times recipe email is about the best gazpacho. 

"It is not the watered-down salsa or grainy sludge often served here under the name of gazpacho, but an emulsion of fat (olive oil) in liquid (vegetable juice and vinegar) that is light and fluffy on the tongue and a fantastic conductor of flavor, just like vinaigrette or hollandaise." 

Obviously, given my comments in the first paragraph I prefer the chunky gazpacho to the smooth.  So, when I read the instructions and found the first step to be soaking crustless white bread in water I cringed a bit.  Once the bread is soaked and drained and squeezed dry, it's put into the food processor with almonds, grapes, cucumber and garlic.  Then, ice water, olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper are added.  The soup is put through a fine sieve and refrigerated until chilled.  It's topped with reserved almonds and garlic slices that have been crisped in some olive oil.  Then, it gets a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of piment d'Espelette. 

Once I got over the fact that this was not going to be anything at all like the gazpacho I love, I decided this was pretty darned good.  It's not something that I'll make with any regularity but is a lovely recipe for a starter for a dinner party.  Or a luncheon with a bowl of this and some great sandwiches. 



Here's the ingredient list for the gazpacho I make:

Indianapolis Collects and Cooks Gazpacho
6 c tomato juice
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c finely minced onion
3 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
dash of tabasco

Tomatoes, Baked, Gazpacho, Pesto BLT's...

Me behind on things to do at the house?  To the best of my knowledge I've never gotten to the point of having three loads of scrunchies to wash.  There must've been eight full loads of wash.  When you're talking about two people that's a lot of clothes, folks.  My excuse?  Well, we're still dealing with the tsunami of paperwork in the office.  AND, we've been fringing and going to Indians baseball games and going to wine tastings and various sundry fun things. 

Fringing, you say?  Yup.  Indianapolis is lucky enough to have our own Fringe Festival.  It runs for eleven days in several venues on or near Mass Ave downtown.  The first evening we saw Phil Van Hest's new show, "What Biscuits."  When he first started doing Fringe, Phil lived in LA.  Then, he met a lovely lady named Noelle and moved to Indy.  This time his nine month old son, Gray, came to his show for his first time.  And, his last until he's old enough to not do the monkey hear, monkey say thing.  Just saying.  Phil does know a few four letter words, ya know.  And, they do show up in his show.  We ran into Phil on the Avenue later and he confirmed that Gray will not be attending in the near future.  After that we saw a show that's played to rave reviews at other Fringe Festivals - "Under the Lintel."  It was very good but a bit deep for us.  We prefer the straight comedy shows.  Along the way we saw five more shows.  Our favorite this year was Act of Foo.  Those guys were an amazing improv troupe.  We laughed until our sides hurt.  Our second favorite was a fellow we loved a couple of years ago.  Paul Strickland was back with a new show - Ain't True and Uncle False.  Again, we laughed until our sides hurt.  There we ran into my friend, Dave Andrichick who owns the Chatterbox Tavern.  Dave said he'd been to a dozen shows.  We had at least that many we wanted to see but just didn't have the time to spend.  At 50 minutes and $10 a person per show, it's bargain entertainment!  Finally, last night we went to a Fringe reprise at the Fringe Theatre.  A parody of Walt Disney shows and one about an auction called Going, Going, Gone.  Two more side-splitters!

We've been existing on tomatoes.  Tomatoes and cottage cheese.  Caprese salads

Baked stuffed tomatoes.  BLT's, plain and with pesto. 

Tomatoes sautéed with other veggies.  I am going to turn into a tomato.  We've got easily a dozen varieties in our garden.  Two different cherries.  One red and one gold.  Two yellow tomatoes.  Three kinds of romas.  Three different Brandywines.  And, three or four other heirlooms.  I totally forgot to take a photo of the finished dish of one of my favorites - gazpacho.

Baked Stuffed Tomatoes

Large tomatoes
Olive oil
Panko bread crumbs
Garlic, minced
Fresh herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, sage, parsley and basil)
Freshly grated romano cheese

Brown the panko and garlic in the olive oil. 

While they're browning, core the tomatoes and scoop out some of the interior. 

Chop the tomato interiors and add those plus the cheese and herbs to the panko. 

Gently stuff the tomatoes and bake or grill on a grill pan.

Gazpacho

Ingredients:

6 c tomato juice (I typically use V8 instead)
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c minced onion
4-5 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t freshly ground pepper
1/4 t Tabasco

Directions:

Divide each of the veggies in half.  Put half of each in a food processor.  Process until liquefied.  Pour them into a bowl.  Add the V8 and beef broth and mix well.  Add the other ingredients.  Chill overnight before serving. 

adapted from Indianapolis Collects and Cooks



We've also got about two dozen basil plants.  So, I've been fixing a LOT of pesto (my friend Monica's is the BEST.)  Like the recipe I made up last night.  Pesto fish with pesto rice.  The pesto coating kept the fish really moist.  And, the bit of pesto in the rice really carried the flavor through.

Gazpacho Cook- OFF

Once I had the Grilled Gazpacho made, I decided to try another of the recipes from Food and Wine's 10 Best Gazpachos.  It's called Rustic Gazpacho.  Talk about easy to make.  Chop, puree, serve.  Super easy.  Now the big question was, which is better?


We did a gazpacho tasting at Girls Night Out.  The verdict was unanimous - both needed help.  Both were just plain lacking in flavor.  For the most part, everyone preferred the Rustic to the Grilled.  They liked the slightly chunky texture. 


The next morning, I pulled out my trusty Indianapolis Collects and Cooks (given to me Christmas, 1980 by Mom)  to take a look at the gazpacho recipe I've made for years.  The difference?  Some beef broth and tomato juice.  Maybe beef broth's not what you'd traditionally find in gazpacho but it certainly made the difference.  I put both containers - Grilled Gazpacho and Rustic Gazpacho on the counter and proceeded to doctor them up. 


The first thing I did was add some more sherry vinegar to the Rustic.  It helped but it didn't solve the problem.  Because I was hesitant to add more liquid to a soup whose texture was great, I really debated with myself about adding half a can of low sodium V8.  I didn't want to add a beef bouillon cube or some beef soup base because of the sodium.  Then, I realized I had half a can of beef broth in the fridge.  Perfect.  I added 6 oz of V8, about 3 oz of beef broth and about 1 T of extra virgin olive oil.  The flavor was almost perfect.  Therefore, I'd recommend changing the recipe by eliminating the water and adding a mixture of V8 or tomato juice and beef broth.  It really does kick the flavor up.


Now, on to the Grilled.  Grilling the vegetables added a subtle smoky flavor.  I was very tempted to add some chipotle chili powder.  But, I was afraid it'd overwhelm the other subtle flavors.  So, I settled for 6 oz of V8, 3 oz of beef broth and 1 T of extra virgin olive oil - just like the Rustic.  Again, it improved the gazpacho immeasurably.  I'd do the same here.  Eliminate the water and use the V8 and beef broth.


Next, another tasting.  Connie, please come tell me what you think.  Argh, soup.  (He's not terribly fond of soup.  I am, so he eats it.)  Once again, the Rustic won out.  He was not thrilled to find out that a bowl of gazpacho was coming out to the screened porch with his frittata for breakfast.  But, by the end of the meal his bowl was empty.  And, he'd gotten a couple of great servings of veggies!!

Rustic Gazpacho

6 ripe tomatoes, cut into chunks
1/2 large cucumber, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into chunks
1 green bell pepper, cut into chunks
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 cup water (see notes above)
1/3 c extra virgin olive oil
2 T sherry vinegar
salt
hot sauce for serving

Combine all your ingredients in the food processor

process until the soup has reached a chunky consistency.

adapted from Food and Wine


Indianapolis Collects and Cooks Gazpacho
6 c tomato juice
2 T olive oil
2-3 T lemon juice
1 c beef broth
1/2 c finely minced onion
3 tomatoes, finely minced
2 c finely minced celery
1/2 green pepper, finely minced
2 cucumbers, seeded and finely minced
1 t salt
1/4 t pepper
dash of tabasco

Combine all ingredients and refrigerate at least two hours to allow the flavors to blend.  I've found that instead of finely mincing everything by hand, the food processor does a great job. 

from Indianapolis Collects and Cooks


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Steve Raichlen's Grilled Gazpacho

After trying Cat Cora's grilled guacamole (which was fantastic!!!) I had to try this recipe when I saw it.  First, grilling brings out the flavor in most everything.  And, second, I've never tried a Steve Raichlen recipe that I didn't like.  I remember finding a cookbook he'd written in a little out of the way gift shop in Puerto Rico.  We were down there for a conference.  One day they let us out of class early enough that we could go exploring.  So, a bunch of us headed to El Yunque...  It was just amazing.  We climbed to the top of a wonderful tower. 

Where the view was incredible. 

And the windows were spaced close enough together that two goofy people could take photos of each other. 

There was a waterfall - which a few intrepid souls climbed up to. 

And, last but not least, there was a couple mile hike through the jungle - a good bit of it in hilly terrain.  Not my cup of tea.  I chose to stay behind and enjoy the sights and sounds at the base of the trail.  Very close by they had a little gift shop where I could hang out while Connie climbed.  The cookbook was Miami Spice.  I read the whole thing while the climbers did their thing.  But, alas, the gift shop only took cash and I, as usual, had only a few dollars in my pocket.  I kept looking for Miami Spice but couldn't find it.  Connie finally ordered it on Amazon for me.  What a nice surprise that was!  He's a sweetie!!!!  By the time I received Miami Spice, I'd already purchased another of Raichlen's cookbooks.  Now, I've got at least five of his.  They're all excellent and tend to be among the first cookbooks I turn to for barbecue. 

Now, on a side note.  Saturday , Sept 18th was talk like a pirate day.  The conference closing party was out on the beach and the attire was, drum roll please, pirate.  I love this photo of Connie and our friend Mike - talking like pirates!

Food and Wine first published this recipe in 2005.  I ran across it in The Dish - 10 Top Gazpachos.  But, you can find it on foodandwine.com.  This recipe was fun to make.  I mean, what's more fun than getting to play with your food?  First, you grill all the veggies, then you dig in with your hands and prep them for the gazpacho.  Then, you pop everything into the food processor and whir away.  Now, to find out what we thought of the end result, you'll have to wait for the Gazpacho Cookoff post.

 



Steve Raichlen's Grilled Gazpacho

Ingredients:

3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
3 large tomatoes
1 medium cucumber
1 green bell pepper
1 red bell pepper
1 medium sweet onion, unpeeled
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
2 T red wine vinegar
1/4 c chopped mixed herbs, plus more for garnish
1 c cold water
salt and freshly ground pepper


Directions:

Light your grill.  Wrap the garlic cloves in aluminum foil.  Put the onion on the grill over direct heat.  Set your timer for five minutes.  Add the garlic packet.  Wait another two minutes.  Add the rest of the vegetables. 

Grill for another eight minutes or until the skins on the peppers are nice and charred.  Make sure you turn the vegetables at least once so every side gets nice and charred. 

Let the vegetables cool. 

Remove the charred skins.  Seed the cucumbers.  Coarsely chop everything.  Put the vegetables into the food processor with the oil, vinegar and herbs. 

I used basil. 

Process until smooth. 

Add the water.  Pour into a storage container and refrigerate until chilled.  Please check out the Gazpacho Cookoff post for some changes I incorporated into this recipe.

adapted from Food and Wine


FOOD and WINE is giving away a year-long subscription to a lucky reader from Kate's Kitchen. Click here to enter and read official rules here.


This post is part of a series featuring recipes from the FOOD and WINE archive. As a FOOD and WINE Blogger Correspondent, I was chosen to do four recipes a week from FOOD and WINE. I received a subscription to FOOD and WINE for my participation.