Believe it or not, I whipped this up in just a few minutes today for a noon-time dessert.
The day before, I made a syrup out of Shiraz wine and powdered sugar, which was what the cut strawberries were eagerly bathing in, in the fridge. Cleaning out the refrigerator today, we found some puff pastry, which I baked off, coated in egg and sugar.
To finish, we whipped some cream scented with vanilla and with more powdered sugar. Simple, but tasty, for sure.
As the summer weather finally convinces us that a new season is here to stay, we may soon turn to the vegetable harvest which can only improve a dish like this. I am a fan of the “raw” soups from Spain we call gazpacho. There are in fact a variety of soups the Spanish may call a gazpacho, and they are not all red, tomatoey soups.
Yet, I’m a fan of tomatoes and with our own easy access to our Hanover tomatoes, this soup can be a treat. You may also decide to make your gazpacho from a single heirloom variety, and of course, you can adopt tomatoes that are not typically red.
I featured a gazpacho recently here on the site, one inspired by some more tame flavors — a soup we might even call more French than Spanish. I’ve had gazpacho laced with cilantro and chunky, almost like a salsa. But my inspiration is leaning to a more complex, subtle flavor profile. This only works when you’re using really good produce.
The other aspect is texture. I like a gazpacho with a smooth flavor, but thick, too. It should be creamy, yet cold. How is this done?
So, here’s the thing… I didn’t measure much of anything to make this recipe. But I like tomato to be the dominant flavor, so I obviously used more of those. Peel your peppers with a vegetable peeler; you won’t remove 100%, but the peel is more difficult to digest. Core your tomatoes, peel the cucumber before de-seeding. (A spoon works wonders here, after the cucumber is split into two halves.)
I want my soup smooth. So I processed it in batches in a food processor. With each volley of tomato, pepper, salt and cucumber, I added some bread and some of the onion. Buzz… buzz… buzz… make it smooth! Through the feed tube, pour in some of the broth or water, then the EVOO. This soup is as much about the bread and the EVOO as it is the other things… you’ll give he soup a velvety texture and help to emulsify the soup, too.
I found the texture a little lumpy, and some stuff didn’t get well-chopped. Time for step 2.
Filter the gazpacho through a sieve. You’ll get the watery part to pass through, and taste this for seasoning. Then, re-process the chunky stuff. Re-integrate the two parts, and taste again for seasoning. If anything, I go light on the salt here because I plan to garnish each bowl or mug with salt and pepper.
It’s best to refrigerate the soup for 12-24 hours. Stir before serving, and you have a few choices for garnish.
I used the left-over mustard ice cream described by Patricia Wells in her Paris, the Cookbook. It’s a nice cold, creamy addition to the bowl. The cream has no seasoning, so it tends to wash out the salty-component. I garnished the top with Maldon salt and a lot of fresh-cracked pepper (my only addition this time for heat). I have found in the past if you want to use heat, try some hot sauce while making the soup.
Bon appétit!
While gazpacho is a cold soup, I don’t like to serve it “cold cold.” Leave it out of the refrigerator for an hour before service.
This recipe is published because I think it’s not about exact proportions (you can’t record in a recipe how flavorful the tomatoes are, or how big they are, or how much liquid they give off). My hunch is that gazpachos are not precise in origin, it’s a quick mixture of various vegetables in a savory/sour/salty mixture that’s fresh and rustic. But this is an excellent type of recipe for discovering your own palate and taste preferences. If you want to change the texture, you can use bread croutons instead of using bread as a thickener. Or, if you like cilantro and spice, you can do that. Add a squeeze of fresh lime juice at the end instead of the sherry vinegar. Add coarsely chopped tomatoes for texture. Add chive oil. The possibilities are endless, really.
This weekend, I borrowed Keller’s Bouchon from the library, and then ordered myself a copy.
The recipes are not simple, but there is much to learn about making excellent cuisine.
I chose three recipes. Let’s go in reverse order.
The recipe takes 2 lbs of fruit, 1.25 cups of sugar, and a little acid. I mixed half strawberries and blueberries.
While some recipes call for corn syrup, or even a sugar syrup, Keller’s is simple. Mix everything up in the blender. If you have a Vitamix or Blen-Tec, no need to strain. I have a Cuisinart, so I strained.
Then put the mixture in your ice cream machine.
I used lemon, but lime would have equally been well. I cut back on the sugar, and added a squirt of honey for the flavor.
The color and flavor were superb.
Keller calls for oil-poaching some cod fish, at 6 oz. per serving. You flavor some EVOO in thyme and garlic for 30 minutes at 150 degrees. I found my thermal/laser thermometer was excellent for grading the temperature.
Meanwhile, the complicated part is to create a pepper dish which acts as a base, called pipérade. It’s a mixture of an onion/tomato base (long cooking time), roasted red and yellow peppers, and a little spice. This mixture gets further cooked-down with vegetable stock.
The fish gets poached in oil for about 14-15 minutes. Take out the aromatics first, and regulate the temperature between 120-140 degrees F. I thought it was a mistake, but it really works.
The pepper part took a long time; I am sure there is a shortcut method, but the depth of flavors was outstanding. I brought me back to my lunch at Au Bascou in Paris where I enjoyed pipérade over eggs.
I roasted the pencil-thin asparagus with EVOO, salt and pepper for about 7 minutes at 450 degrees. Then I immediately put them in a mustard-vinaigrette to sit, then refrigerated them.
I used the left-over dressing to dress some greens, put the asparagus on top, and then shaved parmesan cheese over the top. Delicious. The warm asparagus soak-up some dressing and give them real flavor.
Whenever a recipe suggests you cook something that can be cooked in a removable bottom pan, like a springform, but says “don’t use the bottom,” stop.
Don’t follow the instructions.
Use the bottom. Take it out, and be prepared for the consequences.
Eggs are a versatile foodstuff. You can do things separately with the yolk and whites (thicken sauces, make cakes rise), or they can be used whole-hog.
The first recipe is something I made up, based on the idea of an Italian frittata or a Spanish tortilla. It’s my recipe, so I am calling it a frittata.
The idea here is to use up left-overs. I didn’t do that, but it was still easy to make and economical, to boot.
Serves 2.
The recipe can be expanded in a larger pan to serve more people.
First, cook down the onion until it’s medium-brown in EVOO. Rusty, really. If needed, slow down the process with a splash of wine. Add, and cook in the fat, some tomato paste, to color the onions. Cook them for as long as you have time.
Remove onions, reserving fat. Dice the potato into small chunks and brown these for about 5 minutes in the oil. Remove, and then crisp-up the sausage.
When the sausage has taken-on color, add the garlic, chopped, then the onion/potato mixture. Cook down now on a low heat for about 10 minutes… everything will be cooked through. Season liberally.
Mix the eggs together with a few tablespoons of milk and/or water, and pour into the pan, after raising the heat back up.
Cook, to set the bottom. Cover with the cheese, and complete the cooking of the eggs under the broiler.
Let it cool in the pan (non-stick is best) for about 8 minutes, the slide onto a plate for cutting like a pizza.
The other recipe I have is a classic, a decadent but really delicious sauce for enjoying asparagus of all thicknesses.
Prepare the asparagus, and either steam them or boil them for about 6 minutes until bright green. Salted water is key here.
Remove to a plate to dry while you prepare the sauce.
In a blender, place the egg yolks, cayenne, salt, lemon juice to taste, and tarragon leaves. Mix on few pulses. In a sauce pan, melt butter; get it really hot (but don’t brown it!). Pour the hot, melted butter into the top of the blender with the blade running. This will create an emulsion, cook the egg yolks, and you’ll have thick, delicious Hollandaise. (Thank Julia Child for her ingenious blender method).
