The Tomato and Friends – Gazpacho – It’s Fresh, it’s Cool

  Confession: I love picking out beautiful heirloom tomatoes and bringing them home – they are evidence of nature’s artwork

Well, I like growing them too, but somehow, mine never look like these!

I have never been a fan of cooked tomato soup for some reason, but I love Gazpacho. It’s fresh, it’s cool.   I distinctly remember being offered, of course, Campbell’s Tomato soup at a friends house on several occasions when I was very young, and, well, to be polite, it just didn’t work for me.  Somehow, the lowly cooked tomato called out for some “friends”, some distinctive freshness, and a distinct backing up through the cooking process…….. all the way back to the raw stage.

I love how the changes in weather instinctively send us off in new directions.  The warmer and sunny (did someone say sun?) weather pulls us outside to garden, golf, run, walk, play games, swim in the ocean, and a multitude of other missions.  Just as roasting meats and vegetables, braising and turning on the oven night after night gets weary and old, we become inspired to look for new dishes to keep the palate entertained and amused.  (Why does the term Amuse-bouche only refer to the hors d’oeuvre course?  Doesn’t our palate deserve to be amused through every course?) One of the things which separates us from others on the food chain is the desire to vary our diet.  And so, it’s definitely time to change it up.

On Sunday night I was watching an old episode of Home for Dinner with Jamie Deen.  He made Gazpacho and so it got me thinking.  I had actually seen this episode before.  This, as well as the many great episodes of Steven Raichlin on the Create Channel this past weekend got me further perked-up about my favorite Summer foods.

Last week was fun in the kitchen in spite of the dastardly weather we had (drove me over the edge to making donuts).  I made the mixed berry tart and took it over to my friend Kim’s for lunch.  The topping was a heavy cream with honey, a dollop of sour cream and orange zest mixture.  Just right, I think.

I also made my favorite barbecued chicken, simple with lemon juice, olive oil and lots of garlic, to which I add a generous amount of Italian Seasoning blend.  Cook the chicken on low on your grill for 30-40 minutes and it will not dry out, will be juicy and flavorful.  I have been making it the exact same way for over 30 years.

I bbqd the corn, in its, husk, at the back of the grill, turning it occasionally – basically, off the heat.  It was tender and delicious.  And, I cooked George’s fav asparagus on the grill as well – in my copper au gratin pan, drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with shallots and a little Pecorino Romano.  Back of the grill again – even Christin liked it and she normally doesn’t like asparagus.  Finished this meal with a green salad with some early white peaches with a sherry vinegar vinaigrette and yum.

Well, that was another story, as was my recipe for Halibut with Blood Orange, White Peaches, Fennel and Crispy Shallots which I concocted the other night when I was home alone.

  I think this meets the 3/4 veggies/fruit, 1/4 protein ratio, as does the chicken dinner, no?

Over the last couple of days , I have been searching out Gazpacho recipes. I love the idea of Gazpacho in general – the cold raw vegetable soup which is attributed to the Andalusia region of Spain.  There are countless iterations of this concept and a lot of them are worth investigating.  There are white gazpachos and green gazpachos as well as the typical orange-to-red hues.  All are worth a look, and a taste.

Anyway, onto the topic at hand…… the typical Gazpacho recipe includes raw tomatoes, peppers, onions and cucumber and many of the formulas as such are very good.  And, it’s quick and easy to make – get out your food processor or blender and go!  Generally speaking, this is a process of tinkering – with flavors and texture and garnishes……….  What I like to do is list out the little additions or diversions which can make this soup even better and more creative and each time I make one, try it just a little differently.  Immediately, my mind goes further to the fruits – watermelon, strawberries and peaches – ok, you guessed.  A variety of herbs can make great accents here as well, not just the requisite Cilantro.

Last Summer Christin and I had what I would say was a great Gazpacho at the Straight Wharf Restaurant on Nantucket.  This treat had a little kick of heat and was accented with grapes.  This was really great and I have been trying to get the recipe since then.  See my post July 14, 2012.

Gazpachos are supposed to be light and fresh and offer a great cooling affect on the hottest of days.  That’s why we go even further to the fruit side.  Peppers, especially when the hot ones are brought in, bring, well, heat and so, there is an effort to balance it out and make the overall effect, cool, cooling, cold.  I do like the idea of some light seafood in Gazpacho – like crabmeat, a shrimp, a scallop and even perhaps a great oyster from Wellfleet.  Then, to finish, some heat – a swirl of chile oil, or some cool,  a swirl of creme fraiche laced with basil.

I think you can really work this concept even further to incorporate some of the other great Summertime treats:  Cherries, Raspberries, Blueberries, other Melons……..  and, the great idea of grapes, as mentioned above.

Here are some of the recipes I tapped for trying.  The temperatures are going up to 90 tomorrow for the first time this season and the humidity is going up there too.  I’m off to Washington, DC on Friday and so I will look for a restaurant or two to try out some new ones.

Here are just a couple of recipes I have on the docket to try.  But, I’m not giving up on the one from Nantucket……

Hubert Keller’s Crab Spheres with Watermelon Gazpacho: http://www.hubertkeller.com/recipes/mod/recipe_308CrabAvocadoSpherewithWatermelonGazpacho.html
Daniel Humm’s Peach Gazpacho with Toasted Almonds: http://www.chow.com/recipes/28867-daniel-humms-peach-gazpacho-with-toasted-almonds

Strawberry-Peach Gazpacho, courtesy “How Sweet It Is” – http://www.howsweeteats.com/2012/07/strawberry-peach-gazpacho/

On Epicurious – Stone Fruit Gazpacho with Scallops – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Stone-Fruit-Gazpacho-with-Scallops-395553

On Epicurious: (note – make 3 -4 days ahead to allow flavors to develop) – http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Peach-and-Tomato-Gazpacho-232601

oh, and oops, here’s a little indiscretion from Memorial Day:

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NOTE ON MONDAY’S POST:  for those of you who read my post early on yesterday, I mixed up my story and it has been corrected – I did not beat the butter and cream cheese for 5 minutes – that is the cupcake part – that’s what you get when you are trying to remember what you did at 5:30 am – the butter and cream cheese were obviously just a little “too” warm and soft, I guess and the creaming that I did do did indeed leave the frosting grainy – anyway, the challenge still exists as is – to create a cream cheese frosting with great body, great piping appeal and texture and taste.  So, I’m still working on it!

In the garden this morning:

the Siberian Iris – lover of moisture

And, finally, I am loving this oil by Pedro Diego Alvarado-Rivera – courtesy NYT Dining Section:

  more of nature-inspired artwork

My Santa Barbara theme song:

One day you’ll look to see I’ve gone

for tomorrow may rain, so I’ll follow the sun

(Beatles, circa 1964)