Spanish Gazpacho is a little different in ingredients. This one uses eggplant and you will become addicted to the flavours of this chilled soup. Trust me, I wouldn’t lead you astray…at least not with this recipe.
- 2 large eggplants, halved lengthwise
- 5 tbsp. olive oil, divided
- 2 lbs. roma tomatoes, stemmed and quartered
- 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
- 2 garlic cloves, sliced
- 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- pinch of cayenne pepper
- 3/4 cup plain Greek Yogurt
- 1/2 cup fresh lime juice
- 1/4 cup tahini paste
- 2 cups water
- extra olive oil, for drizzling
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Drizzle 1 tbsp. olive oil on each of the cut halves of eggplant. Turn over, cut side down and roast for 1 1/2 hours until very tender. Cool and discard the large seed pockets. Scoop the flesh into a bowl, discard the skins and set the bowl aside.
Place the tomatoes in a processor and using the pulse button, process to a coarse puree. Strain the tomatoes into a large bowl and press through to measure 1 1/2 cups of tomato juice. Set the tomato juice aside.
Heat 1 tbsp. olive oil in a heavy skillet and add the onion and garlic, cooking until the onions are a lovely golden colour. This should take about 25 minutes. Add the cumin, cayenne and pepper and stir for 1 minute. Add the yogurt, tahini paste and lime juice, stir, scraping up any brown bits in the pan. Remove from the heat. Stir in the eggplant to combine.
Place half of this mixture in a blender and while running, gradually add 3/4 cup tomato juice and 1 cup of water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Repeat this process with the remaining eggplant mixture.
Taste and season with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate no less than 2 hours or, if pressed for time, make the day ahead. Keep cold. When ready to serve, scoop into individual bowls and drizzle some oil over the top YUMMMMM.
Don’s Fresh Tomato Soup With Creme Fraiche
Everyone who knows us, knows my husband could make an icicle taste good. This is one of the many soups he makes, and I might say, is really, really good.
The only thing to add is my grilled cheese sandwich…..just sayin’.
In a large pot add:
- 1 tbsp. olive oil
- 2 carrots, medium chop
- 2 celery stalks, peeled and chopped fine
- 1 tsp. onion powder (not salt)
- 12 large Roma tomatoes, skinned and chopped
- 1 box (900 ml) chicken broth
- 1 can (398 ml) tomato sauce
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. thyme
- 1 tsp. baking soda*
- 1/4 tsp. pepper
- 1 tsp. basil
- 1 tbsp. parsley flakes
- 1 tbsp. sugar
Cook on simmer for approximately 45 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool.
When cool enough to work with, put in a blender in 3 – 4 batches and blend until really smooth.
Serve hot and add a dollop of creme fraiche or 2 tbsp. sour cream on top.
* the baking soda will neutralize the acid effects on the cream.
Note: If it was me making this, I would alter the chicken broth amounts and put in cream…..that’s just me! But then I would take some puff pastry, cut into squares large enough to cover the filled soup bowls, and bake in the oven until the pastry is cooked to a golden colour. We used to do this. It is a real show stopper.
Don’s Roasted Red Pepper And Tomato Gazpacho
Ladies and Gents, this will put you on the top of the list for sure. The last time I had gazpacho was at the Jasper Park Lodge and they don’t even come close. THIS is awesome. Yes, I know, you think you don’t like cold soups…uhuh…you will.
- 3 large red peppers, roasted, skin and seeds removed
- 1 28 0z. can and
- 1 14 0z. can roma tomatoes with juice
- 1 14 oz, low sodium chicken broth
- 2 tbsp. good quality olive oil
- 1 carrot, finely chopped
- 1 celery stick, finely chopped
- 1/2 small onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeds removed)
- 1/2 fennel bulb (white only)
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 1 sprig fresh thyme, finely chopped
- 2 lemon thyme leaves, finely chopped
- 1 sprig oregano, finely chopped
- 10-12 small basil leaves, finely chopped
- 1/3 english cucumber, skin removed and finely chopped
- 2 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
In a large saucepan, add the olive oil. Saute the carrot, celery, onion, garlic, fennel and jalapeno pepper until soft. Add pinch of salt and pepper (first layer).
When soft, add the chicken broth, tomatoes and herbs and cook for 20-25 minutes. Let cool.
Add the chopped cucumber, Worchestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar. Using a boat blender (or regular blender done in batches), blend until smooth.
Taste again, add salt and pepper to taste (2nd layer). Cover and put in refrigerator, chilling until cold.
Place 2 slices of cucumber in center of soup when serving in your prettiest bowl..
YUMMMMMY. Yes, this is served cold and is fabulous.
Pico De Gallo
Earlier this year we were at a cooking class in Osoyoos and Chef Liam and his co-hort Moss gave us a Mexican meal. This is one of his recipes and believe me, it was really good.
- 1/2 cucumber, seeded and diced
- 1 yellow sweet pepper, seeded and diced
- 1/2 red onion, finely diced (maybe)
- 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 cup roasted corn kernals (off the cob)
- 1/2 cup cilantro
- juice and zest from 1 lime
- Olive oil
- salt and pepper
Combine all the ingredients and let sit for 1 hour. Season to taste.
This was put into tortillas and it was really tasty.