Recipe: Gazpacho, Refreshing Hot Summer Days

Gazpacho soup, also known as gazpacho, is a cold, Spanish soup that is popular in warmer areas and during the summer, deliciously combines the best of summer vegetables. Gazpacho descends from an ancient Andalusian concoction based on a combination of stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar — a cold breadsoup. With the Columbian Exchange beginning in 1492, the tomato and the bell pepper were brought to Europe.

Because this soup is uncooked, make sure you only use the freshest, highest quality ingredients.

Ingredients:
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped
or One 28-ounce can of tomatoes, chopped
1 medium onion, preferably sweet
1 large cucumber, peeled
1/2 green pepper, coarsely chopped (I use a yellow one)
1/2 red bell pepper, coarsely chopped
2 scallions, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tablespoons sherry vinegar or balsamic vinegar
1 or 2 teaspoons pepper sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 to 1 cup chilled tomato juice
salt & pepper
croutons
chopped fresh herbs
sliced scallions or diced avocado
sour cream

Extra add-ins:
2 Tablespoons dry white wine
1 teaspoon Worcestershire
4 basil leaves
1 spring parsley
1 large can mushrooms, stems and pieces
2 cans pimentos, chopped

One by one, chop ingredients in a food processor or by hand. Add each item into a large bowl. As you add each ingredient to mixture, stir well. Cover the bowl and refrigerate until very cold, at a couple of hours or for up to two days. Stir the gazpacho and ladle into bowls, or pour it at table from wide-mouth pitcher. Garnish with croutons, herbs, scallions, avocado, or sour cream.

Serves: 6

Capturing the Flavor and Color of Cherries

1. Stone the cherries with a cherry stoner, or by halving them with a knife. Fold about half of the stones in a napkin and rap them sharply with a mallet to expose the kernels, which contain an agreeably bitter flavor. Put the crushed stones, whole stones and cherry stalks into an enameled pan—do not use aluminium or cast iron which would react with the acid fruit and discolor the soup.

2. Flavoring the liquid. Pour in wine, then add sugar, a piece of cinnamon stick and some grated lemon rind. Bring the mixture to the boil and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes to draw the flavors into the wine. Strain the liquid through a nylon sieve, then pour it back into the pan.

3. Assembling. Halve and reserve a few cherries for a garnish. Put the rest to soften in the wine, off the stove. Whisk soured cream until it is smooth, then stir in the cherry mixture.Add lemon juice and salt until the liquid is slightly more tart than the fruit. Cover and chill.

4. Serving. Transfer the soup to a chilled serving bowl and garnish with the cherry halves. Serve in chilled soup plates. With slices of toasted brioche, a semi-sweet bread, or biscuits.

Need No Cooking-Soup: A Cool Blend of Advocado and Cream

This soup is very suitable to be served for summer.
When soups are not cooked, special attention must be paid to every aspect of the raw ingredients used, including texture and appearance. For this recipe, the success of the uncooked avocado soup depends upon the creamy, blemish-free ripeness of the avocado flesh. Avocados bought ripe are often marred by bruises from handling; to avoid this, buy firm fruit and ripen it at home for a few days. Avocados are ready when they yield slightly to gentle pressure.

1. Peeling an avocado. Starting from the broader end, cut through the flesh to the stone. Rotate the knife around the stone to halve the avocado lengthwise. Pull the halves apart and prise out the stone with the knife tip. Slice each half in two and, starting at the stem end, peel the skin from each piece. For added color, scrape off the dark green flesh that clings to the inside of the skin. Drench all the avocado flesh with lemon juice to prevent discoloration and to add a slight tartness.

2. Puréeing. Put the avocado flesh in a large bowl, and mash it with a fork to make a rough purée. If you want a smooth-textured soup, pas this purée through a food mill or press it through a fine sieve. For a varied texture, try mixing a very smooth purée with some flesh that has only been roughly mashed.

3. Combining ingredients. Stir into the purée enough cold liquid to make it easy to pour: both white wine or, as here, chicken broth are suitable. Add salt, white pepper and cayenne pepper; enrich the soup with sweet or soured cream. Pour the soup into a tureen, cover and chill in the refrigerator.

4. Serving the soup. Sprinkle finely chopped, fresh chives over the chilled avocado soup just before serving. Chopped fresh dill may be substituted for the slightly sweet contrast of flavor it contributes. Ladle the garnished soup into well-chilled soup plates.