My garden brings me great joy, gentle exercise, and occasionally a generous glut of gorgeous vegetables
As you may have noticed from all my whinging, it has been hot. Very hot. And sometimes cooking is much less appealing than usual- I just don't want to turn on my oven or hot plates at all, or stand outside in the sun to use the bbq either
The perfect answer to avoiding the heat while still feeding my family fresh, healthy meals gathered from the garden is Gazpacho
Gazpacho is a peasant dish from southern Spain, around about Andalusia, where all these delightful veggies grow in abundance throughout Summer as well. As it's been around for many, many years, I figure that I'll stick with the classics and enjoy a night off from the heat for a change!
Gorgeous Garden Gazpacho- start a day earlier than serving for best results
1- 1/2 kg fresh Tomatoes
1 Red Capsicum
1 Cucumber
1 or 2 cloves of Garlic
1/2 - 1 mild Chilli
2 slices gf Bread
1-2 tab Sherry Vinegar
3-4 tab good Olive Oil
Salt to taste
Time to trim the veggies:
Make sure you remove all the seeds and membrane from the capsicum. The seeds are yucky and hard and the membrane can be bitter, so best to take it all out
As my cucumbers are nice and young and very fresh I won't bother peeling them or taking the seeds out. The seeds and peel can be quite bitter as well if they're not in they're prime, so best to remove them if you're not sure
Now, if you wanted to be fussy, you could blanch and peel the tomatoes as well- but why bother I say! Just roughly chop them a very little and you're done. Now a little tip from our friend Heston- he recommends leaving a bit of the tomato stalk to simmer with tomatoes when making a sauce as it adds a lot of fragrance and flavour. I'll add mine in after the blending while it's soaking for a very easy flavour boost
Peel the garlic and depending on how much of a buzz you want, you can leave the seeds in the chilli if you like
Quickly splash the bread with a good glug of water
Then squeeze the excess away. The bread will add a nice bit of body and almost a bit of 'creaminess' to the texture as well
Everything ready to go!
Bung it all in to a food processor or blender with the olive oil
Then whizz, whizz away until nice and smooth
Of course you could just eat this soup as is with all the veggies bits mixed in, and it's quite nice really, but to be authentic and fancy you need to strain the whole lot leaving the solids behind
Nice and smooth and clear
Test the fresh flavours, then mix in a tablespoon or so of the sherry vinegar to taste. The vinegar will add a sweet sharpness that works beautifully with the veggies, but be careful not to overdo it as the flavours will continue to mellow and develop overnight. Time to pop in the tomato stalk as well and let it do it's magic....
Let the soup sit covered in the fridge overnight
Before serving, check the flavours- does it need salt, a splash more vinegar, a pinch of sugar if your veggies aren't home grown? If it's very thick it's ok to thin it out a with just a little chilled water.
Serve straight from the fridge, and drizzle with a little more olive oil just as you serve to finish off one of the nicest soups you'll have all Summer- I promise
For a bit of added yumminess I served my soup up with some more of the bread topped with soft goat cheese- delicious!
So Dear Readers, what do you think of cold soup and do you like goat cheese too?
I like cold soup and goats cheese. And who can blame you for mentioning the weather? I experienced Canberra's recent heatwave and I was stunned by its ferocity!
ReplyDeleteFerocious is right Lorraine! We have very little humidity to take the edge off and the sun certainly sears :) xox
DeleteThat sounds nice, too hot up here to eat anything cooked
ReplyDeleteHere's to Autumn Simcha! :)
DeleteThat sounds nice, too hot up here to eat anything cooked
ReplyDeleteBec, this is one of MY FAVOURITE summer soups and yours looks delicious... such a pity my Peter won't have a bar of it! Aren't we glad for that welcome rain... it sure was scorching hot just recently.
ReplyDeleteThat bit of rain saved most of my plants Lizzy, but I think I lost the hydrangdra :(
DeleteDear Intolerant Chef,
ReplyDeleteI love a chilled soup in summer too except I might add a bit of Vodka into this beautiful gazpacho.
Ooh vodka! Inspired thinking indeed :)
DeleteHow perfect, especially if you can pick all this from outside the door. I'm going to give it a try after a visit to the greengrocer. Perfect on a day like today.
ReplyDeleteI hope Peter and his dad like it too Maureen, perfect for sipping on the deck :)
DeleteRebecca - Your post is making me crave summer sunshine and heat...we have been in monsoon weather with 90 k. winds! All I want right now is your lovely gazpacho no matter how cold it is outside!
ReplyDeleteDreadful weather indeed Ina- yuck! I've frozen some for when the winter blues hit over here and I need a reminder of summer, I hope it works :)
DeleteThis does look very delicious... although I am not a fan of cold soup. I made this once when I was learning to cook as a child and was mortified that it wasn't served hot! LOL
ReplyDeleteHow funny Julie- you probably thought they spoilt it! :) x
DeleteSo garden fresh! I adore goats cheese. I had the most lovely gazpacho in Spain one time. I should take advantage of all the Summer fresh vegetables and make this, shouldn't I.
ReplyDeleteHeidi xo
You certainly should Heidi- no more excuses ! :)
DeleteI think your summer has been hotter than ours. We haven't had too many stinky days and I've already noticed the nights becoming cooler. I do love the sound of your garden and I dream of having my own one day complete with a passionfruit vine over a pergola! Your soup looks great and I too have made this when it's just too hot to fire up the oven. I do hope your recovery is going well xx
ReplyDeleteI think you've definitly got a milder climate up there Charlie. I dug up my passionfruit vine- it sent up suckers all over thr place and was very naughty, I'm thinking of growing one in a tub instead. I'm typing with onw finger only at the moment- slooowly but surely, thanks xox
DeleteLovely - what a perfect summer dish! I'm with you on the cooking in the hot weather thing. During the worst of our heat we weren't eating until quite late as it was way to hot to put the barbecue on!
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean Amanda, it's a nuisance now school has gone back and we have to eat earlier while it's still hot :( xox
Delete