Suzi's Blog
Watermelon Gazpacho from Austin
On Wednesday, we were in Olive, New York. It was snowing a bit. The daffodils held their heads up nobly. Suzen searched for the car keys and escape.
Today, Saturday, we are in Austin. No immediate threat of snow. Suzen is basking in the heat. But to offset the 90°, our daughter-in-law Michele supplied a watermelon gazpacho that is refreshingly wonderful.
This is an example of recipes passing from generation to generation. Except this is a pass up. And, as always, we have to give full credit: the source is Cooking Light and this recipe is a “10” for both flavor and calorie counting. The taste here is full of sweet heat with crunchy texture. And instead of tomato juice as a base, cranberry-raspberry serves up an eye-opening flavor. Offer this soup very cold, perhaps with a red sangria.
Watermelon Gazpacho
Yield: 7-8 cups
Ingredients:
- 6 cups cubed seeded watermelon
- 1 cup coarsely chopped peeled English cucumber
- ½ cup coarsely chopped yellow bell pepper
- ⅓ cup chopped green onions
- 3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
- 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
- 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon hot sauce
- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 1 cup cranberry-raspberry juice
Preparation:
Combine first the 10 ingredients, all but the cranberry-raspberry juice. Place half of this watermelon mixture in a food processor, and pulse 3 or 4 times or until finely chopped. Spoon into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining watermelon mixture. Stir in the cranberry-raspberry juice. Chill thoroughly.
Source: David Joachim in Cooking Light Magazine
Pineapple and Cucumber Gaucamole
Since Cinco de Mayo is today, a Thursday, there is a chance it may lap over into the weekend. You might face endless rounds of guacamole. You might get bored.
You have an option, a guacamole with other flavors that you won’t have encountered before. Sweet, rather than overpowering hot. Very chunky instead of mashed.
From Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez, here’s Pineapple and Cucumber Guacamole. It’s swiftly made and works with chips or shrimp or side tacos or … You have many choices here.
In making this guac, there are some real variables. There is some heat and that is controlled by your chiles. The tartness of the lime juice can be adjusted with some sugar or by using lemon juice. And the pineapple will offer significant variation. If it is very ripe, it is going to be very sweet and perhaps a bit overpowering. So, reserve some ingredients on the side — the chilies and pineapple — and make some final adjustments to suit you palette.
Oh, this used half of the pineapple. The other half? Please read tomorrow’s post!
Pineapple and Cucumber Guacamole
Yield: 5 cups
Ingredients:
- · 1 (10- to 12-ounce) cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced (½ inch)
- · ½ cup finely diced red onion
- · 2 fresh Serrano or jalapeno chiles, minced, including seeds, or more to taste
- · 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice, or more to taste
- · 3/4 teaspoon file salt, or 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt
- · 2 large or 4 small ripe Mexican Haas avocados, halved and pitted
- · ½ pineapple, peeled, cored and diced (½ inch)
- · ½ cup chopped cilantro, divided.
Preparation:
Stir together the cucumber, onion, chiles, lime juice, and salt in a large bowl. Score the flesh in the avocado halves in a cross-hatch patter (no through the skit) with a knife and then scoop it would with a spoon into the bowl and gently stir together (do not mash). Stir in half the cilantro and pineapple last so that the fresh acidity is distinct from the avocado. Season to taste with additional chile, lime juice, and salt.
Transfer to a serving dish and sprinkle with the remaining chopped cilantro on top.
Source: Truly Mexican by Roberto Santibanez
