Suzi's Blog
Bread & Water + Tomatoes = Gazpacho
“Do you hit your wife during the night?” the man asked me.
I hesitated to answer. The question was stark. And, I have always maintained that what happens between me and Suzen in the privacy of our bedroom is, well private.
“No, Doctor, he does not,” Suzen answered.
“Good,” the doctor responded. “That means you do not have Restless Leg Syndrome.”
Apparently, I am “restless” when asleep, and Suzen had joined me at my sleep doctor to trace down the source. I wake Suzen up in the middle of the night, never a good thing to do. But all I do is thrash. I do not bash my wife.
The doctor, who was simply doing his job, proposed a solution and we prepared to leave.
“Are you still trying to lose weight?” the doctor asked.
“Oh, yes,” I said as I bent to grab my bag.
“You are lying,” the doctor said to me.
I jerked up and looked at him. He pointed to Suzen, standing in the hallway with a very righteous look on her face.
“Your wife told me the truth,” the doctor said reproachfully.
Ratted out by my wife. Was I depressed at her faithlessness? No, I was damn angry. She thinks I’m restless in bed? Wait until tonight, baby. Your ass will be on the floor by midnight. That’s what rushed through my head.
No, wait. They are right. I need to drop a few. Okay, several. But it’s not my fault. Someone has to test brownies and my metabolism is way, way too efficient. I can’t burn enough calories.
So, I’m exercising like mad. And going on a restricted diet. Not bread and water. But close. Thank God for gazpacho. Wonderful, classic gazpacho.
Lydie Marshall has written a perfectly diverse collection of soup ideas in Soup of the Day. She presents two contrasting gazpacho recipes, and this one represents the very pure and simple style: tomatoes, garlic, and bread that has been soaked in water. This recipe, Melchior’s Gazpacho, is named for its creator, a Barcelona native. What we have here is authenticity.
I’m a fan of gazpacho and sample new recipes all the time. The variety of gazpacho flavors, styles, and textures is just a delight. I particularly love the distinct pale orange color that is achieved when white bread is combined with red tomatoes.
This gazpacho is not the chunky type you may have tasted. It’s immaculately thin, because the only veggie being used is the tomatoes and a food processor is used to liquefy the wet bread and the whole thing is sieved. You are left with this delightfully delicate liquid that can be adorned with toppings to extend flavor and give body.
Lydie suggests diced onions, bell peppers, cucumber and hard-boiled eggs for toppings. Plus, of course, croutons. [See yesterday’s blog for perfect homemade croutons!]. I added some options in the list of ingredients below.
I used the croutons, and the cucumber, but I added in sliced hot green peppers and some ripe avocado.
The brightness of all the additive flavors always makes gazpacho a surprising treat. The fact that gazpacho is healthy, too, is a bonus you can relish. You can retire to bed at night with no sense of guilt. You are free, of course, to thrash a bit in celebration. Just don’t hit the person next to you.
Melchior’s Gazpacho
Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients:
The Soup Itself:
- 4 pounds very ripe tomatoes
- 2 cups loosely packed bread, from the doughy part of the bread, not the crust
- 1 garlic clove, peeled and pureed
- 4 tablespoons, red wine vinegar
- ½ cup olive oil
- 2 teaspoons salt or more
- Freshly ground black pepper
Options for Topping the Soup:
- Diced tomato
- Slice or diced onion
- Sliced avocado
- Sliced scallions
- Sliced cucumbers
- Sliced hot peppers
- Sliced bell peppers
- Dice hard-boiled eggs
- Croutons, freshly made
Preparation:
Dice and reserve 1 tomato for garnish.
Soak the remaining tomatoes in boiling water for 10 seconds. Drain, peel, and chop.
Soak the bread in water for 5 minutes. Squeeze out the water and mix the bread with the tomatoes.
Puree the tomatoes, bread and garlic in a food processor until very smooth. Strain the mixture through a fine-meshed sieve to remove the tomato seeds [and any tomato pulp].
Whisk in the 3 tablespoons of the vinegar, then drizzle the olive oil in the tomato mixture. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper and stir the gazpacho. Refrigerate.
Just before serving, prepare the croutons.
To serve, taste the soup and correct the seasoning. If the soup is too thick, add ice cubes to thin it out. Pour the soup into chilled soup bowl or plates.
Serve the adornments in side bowls and allow each guest to add as they wish.
Source: Soup of the Day by Lydie Marshall
Mango Guacamole
Nothing can really beat classic guacamole. That pure green mixture with the unique flavor is a culinary masterpiece.
On the other hand, sometimes you want or even need a twist to the flavor. If you are having a strong barbeque dish, say chicken or chops that are cooked until the outside begins to blacken, it’s a great contrast to have a cool, sweet side dish. This Mango Guacamole is just the trick.
The secret ingredient here, unlike classic guac, is to replace the standard jalapeno with hot/sweet pickles. You can find varieties of these pickles in many stores and we’ll be posting a recipe later this summer when our own cucumbers are ready in the garden.
This guac is, naturally, perfect for some chips and a salt-rimmed margarita. But just on the side of your plate, it’s a lively way to add character to your meal.
Normally, when we make guac we use a pastry cutter to mash the ingredients. Here, it’s chunky style so the size you get is the size you cut.
Mango Guacamole
Yield: about 3 cups
Ingredients:
- 1 medium sweet onion
- ½ cup hot/sweet pickles
- 2 ripe mangoes
- 2 avocadoes
- Juice of 2 lemons
- Handful of cilantro
- Salt and pepper to taste
Preparation:
Dice the onion and place into a bowl. Dice the pickles and add the pickles and any pickle juice to the bowl. That pickles juice is an important contributor to the flavor.
Skin the mangos, cut off the meat and dice. Add to the bowl.
Skin the avocados, remove the pit, and carefully slice up each half into “smallish” pieces, say ¼ by ¼ by ½ inch. You are doing the avocados at the end here to prevent them from discoloring. Add them to the bowl
Juice the lemons over the bowl. Then dice the cilantro and add. Stir to mix. You may want to add some salt, possibly some pepper, but you need to taste first.
Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Source: Brian O’Rourke
