food comas

I’ve been trying to figure out what has incepted the gazpacho theme in my brain. At first it was Jen wanting to try something new. So I did by making White Gazpacho. Then I thought it was probably the fact that it is summer and thus the season for chilled soups. But I think ultimately it was Samuel L. Jackson in the Siri commercial with his “yes, unless you want Hotspacho” wittiness. Regardless of reason, I’ve been researching gazpacho recipes to find something that would make a refreshing appetizer without being too heavy. Some of the recipes I saw use bread or even mayonnaise and so I really wanted to skip on those ingredients without sacrificing flavor. I finally found Emeril’s Spanish Style Gazpacho which incorporated watermelon and strawberries. I didn’t mind the extra added sweetness and if anything the soup could have also been a good palate cleanser between other courses. I served the gazpacho as a starter at my Memorial Day Dinner.

Gazpacho (courtesy of Emeril)
Yields: 6-8 servings

Ingredients:

• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped (save the juice)
• ½ pound strawberries, stems removed
• ½ pound red seedless watermelon, about 1 cup
• 1 each green and red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1/2 small red onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 small jalapeno, seeded
• ¼ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup sherry vinegar
• 4 teaspoons salt or to taste
• any of the leftover vegetables to be used as garnish, finely diced

Directions:

In a food processor or a blender, combine tomatoes, strawberries, watermelon, peppers, cucumber, onion, garlic, and jalapeno and blend as smoothly as possible. This may be done in several batches. After processing, pass the mixture through a strainer into a large bowl. Make sure to press firmly, pressing all of the liquid from the pulp.

Once the mixture has been strained, add the olive oil, vinegar, any remaining tomato juice, and salt to taste. Blending with the added olive oil may actually add bitterness to the soup, which  would clash with the other sweet flavors. If you want to add oil to the blender, use canola. Add the garnishes to the gazpacho, cover, and refrigerate for several hours or until well chilled.