Melon Gazpacho

This isn't the first time I've made gazpacho, and it certainly won't be the last. I look forward to making this soup every summer.

Gazpacho:

½ seedless watermelon

½ Santa Claus melon

1 large cucumber

1 large tomato

2 red bell peppers

1 clove garlic

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1.5 tablespoons salt

½ tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1.5 cups croutons (recipe follows)

Hot sauce to taste (I used Frank’s)

Remove the rind from the watermelon and Santa Claus melon and roughly chop. Peel and deseed the cucumber by cutting it in half lengthwise and using a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Give it a rough chop. Remove the seeds from your tomato, and give it a rough dice. Deseed the peppers and – you guessed it – give it a rough dice. Remove the papery husk from the garlic and dice.

Add all these ingredients to a large bowl along with the vinegar, salt, extra virgin olive oil and croutons. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 to 6 hours.

Add half the contents of the bowl to a blender and blend until you have a smooth soup. Repeat with the second half. Taste and season with salt.

To serve:

Gazpacho

Basil leaves

Black pepper

Prosciutto

Sungold cherry tomatoes, halved

Extra virgin olive oil

Croutons

Ladle some gazpacho in a bowl and garnish with the remaining ingredients.

Croutons:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed but kept whole

5 sprigs thyme

3.5 cups hearty stale bread

Cut bread into ¾” to 1” cubes. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil and the garlic; when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the bread and thyme. Cook until the bread starts to color (5 to 8 minutes? I wasn’t really paying close attention to how long it took, exactly), but be careful not to burn them. Add 1.5 cups to the gazpacho mixture, and reserve 2 cups (let them cool) for serving.

Sweet Potato and Tomatillo Soup

I didn’t know there was such a thing as white sweet potatoes until I saw them at the market this weekend, and I’m a sucker for novel vegetables. This can easily be made vegetarian/vegan by using vegetable stock, however since I made chicken stock this weekend that’s what I went with.

Recipe:

2 large white sweet potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

½ large white onion, diced

1 clove garlic, diced

2 poblano peppers, diced

4 cups chicken stock

6 tomatillos, husks removed, halved

3 tomatoes, stems removed and halved

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground thyme

1 teaspoon black pepper

For garnish:

Cilantro

Jalapeno slices

Diced shallots

Preheat your oven to 450°F.

In a dutch oven or other decent sized pot, heat over medium and add some oil. Add the onion, garlic and poblano peppers and sweat for about 5 minutes. Add the stock and the sweet potatoes, then add the salt and spices and taste to adjust. Cover the pot and bring to a simmer, cooking for 20 minutes or so, until the potatoes have softened.

Meanwhile, place the halved tomatoes and tomatillos on a baking sheet (cut side down) lined with foil and sprayed with cooking oil. Place in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. The tomatillos will have some color on them. Remove from the oven, take the skins off the tomatoes, and add to a blender.

When the potatoes have softened add them to the blender as well. Blend smooth and adjust seasoning. Garnish with cilantro, jalapeno pepper slices and shallots.

Chicken and Tortilla Soup

I was going to write about how fall is great for soup, but it hit 71 degrees today, so I'd be a liar if I said this was soup weather. I do, however, have a ton of chicken stock in my freezer, and more bones ready to be made into additional stock, so I needed to do something with it. Surprise, surprise, I went with a Mexican dish. Recipe modified from: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/.

Tortillas:

8 oz. Masa Harina

10 oz. Warm water

¼ teaspoon salt

Mix masa and salt in a bowl, add the water and mix until a dough forms. It should be just slightly tacky – adjust amount of water or masa if too far in either direction.

Break the dough into 9 equal sized pieces (about golf ball sized) and place a towel over the ones you aren’t using. One at a time, place the tortillas between saran wrap and use a heavy object/rolling pin to roll out the tortillas into circles.

Heat a cast iron skillet over medium (no oil needed). Cook the tortillas about 45 seconds per side, until they just start to show some browning in spots. Repeat with remaining tortillas. You’ll only need 6 for the soup, so you’ll have enough for a few tacos left.

Soup:

2 tablespoons bacon grease

1 medium white onion, diced

2 anaheim peppers, deseeded and diced

1 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

2 quarts chicken stock

2 15-ounce cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 cups diced tomatoes

1 6-ounce can of tomato paste

2 teaspoons chili powder

2 teaspoons cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon oregano

3 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 large chicken breasts

6 corn tortillas

2 tablespoons masa harina

2 tablespoons lime juice

Avocado slices

Shallots (diced)

Cilantro

Heat the oven to 425°F. Salt the 2 chicken breasts and roast for approximately 40 minutes, until they hit 165°F. Remove and let cool for about 10 minutes or so. Shred the meat using forks or your hands (I think using your hands is better). 

Chop the onions, peppers and garlic. Heat a 6 quart dutch oven over medium and add the bacon grease. Add the onions, peppers, and garlic, stirring occasionally and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the stock, tomatoes, tomato paste, black beans, chili powder, cumin, coriander, oregano, and salt and pepper (phew). Taste and adjust seasoning. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook for 45 minutes.

While the soup is doing its thing, add enough canola oil to a 12” cast iron skillet so that there’s a few centimeters of depth to it. Heat the oil over high to about 250°F. Cut 6 tortillas into strips and add to the oil in two batches. Cook for about 1 to 1.5 minutes, flipping halfway through, or until the tortilla strips start to crisp. Remove to a sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain excess oil.

Back to the soup: After the initial 45 minutes of simmering, add the shredded chicken. Mix 2 tablespoons of masa with warm water to create a slurry and add to the soup. Add the lime juice. Adjust seasonings as needed. Simmer for an additional 20 minutes, then turn off heat and allow to stand 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Ladle the soup into a bowl, add the fried tortilla strips, avocado slices, diced shallots, and cilantro to garnish.

Mango and Papaya Gazpacho

Gazpacho season is here, because frankly it’s too hot to turn the oven on. This recipe is an adaptation of Daniel Humm’s Strawberry Gazpacho that I’ve made before.  The basil I used was basil ararat from my garden, which turns from purple to green once it has been growing for a while (and my plant is getting quite large), hence why the purple basil listed in the ingredients below is green in the photos.

Mango and Papaya Gazpacho:

3 mangoes, peeled and diced

1 papaya, seeds removed, rind removed, diced

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, diced

1 medium red bell pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, diced

1 tomato, diced

2 green onions, sliced

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1.5 teaspoons salt

½ cup extra virgin olive oil (use the good stuff for this)

2 cups bread chunks (i.e. 1” dice -  I used a large Italian style roll)

If ever you wanted to practice your knife work, here’s your chance. There’s no need to make this look perfect, so precision is not needed. For the mangoes, peel the skins off them, then cut the sides of the flesh off as close to the pit as you can. Dice and add to a large bowl.

For the papayas, split them into quarters (skin on), then use a spoon to scoop out the black seeds. Using a spoon or a knife, loose the flesh from the skin, roughly dice and add to the bowl with the mangoes.

Cut everything else that needs to be cut, and add to the same bowl, along with the vinegar, salt, olive oil and bread chunks, and give it a good mix with your hands. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit at room temp for 4 to 6 hours.

After the ingredients have sufficiently marinated, pour everything into a blender (you’ll need to do this in 2 batches) and blend until smooth. Add to a large bowl. If the consistency is too thick, add some water to thin it out. Refrigerate until chilled before serving.

Croutons:

2 cups diced bread (1” or so dice – Italian or French baguette works great)

3 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic

4 sprigs fresh thyme

Heat a large pan over medium, add oil and give it a sec to get warm, then add the bread, garlic and thyme. Give it a good toss to coat the bread and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until the bread starts to get crispy.

Mango Confit:

1 mango, diced

¼ cup Vermouth, or dry white wine

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Add all ingredients to a small saucepan, and bring to a simmer over medium. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the mango pieces offer little resistance to a fork. Strain out excess liquid.

Basil Oil:

1/3 cup Genovese basil leaves (regular green basil)

¼ cup olive oil

Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for 10 seconds, remove and rinse under cold water. Add to a dish (pyrex measuring cup works well here) with the oil and blitz with a stick blender. Strain through a small strainer to remove excess solids. Let sit for 15 minutes before using.

To serve:

Gazpacho

Croutons

Mango Confit

Slice of Serrano Ham

Purple Basil Leaves (Ararat Basil)

Basil Oil

Coriander Flowers

Peach Gazpacho

I don't always eat soup, but when I do it's usually gazpacho. This is another Daniel Humm recipe; I made his strawberry gazpacho previously. Luckily, even though its September I was able to buy some pretty decent peaches. I feel like my plating looks the same anytime I make something like this, but really how many ways can you present something like this (assuming you only have one type of bowl)? Anyway, you can find the recipe here.

Roasted Corn Soup

I’ve never been big on soup, but for some reason I keep coming back to these chilled, summer-y soups. Adapted from: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Fresh-Corn-Soup-Topped-with-Roasted-Corn-Guacamole-352975

Ingredients:

6 ears of corn

2 small (4 inch) cucumbers

1 yellow bell pepper

2 jalapenos

½ white onion

3 cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon ancho chili powder

Garnish:

Avocado

Tomato

Shallot

Cilantro

Jalapeno

Croutons
Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 450°F. Use a knife to remove the kernels from the cobs. I find it’s easiest to place a small bowl upside down inside a very large bowl, and place the corn on top of the small bowl. This way you can cut downward on the corncobs, and the kernels all fall into the bigger bowl.  Reserve the cobs. Pour some olive oil on the kernels, and season with salt and pepper. Spread on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and roast for 20 minutes. 

While that’s going on, take 3 of the reserved cobs, place in a pot, and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and let it go for about 20 minutes.

Seed and chop the bell pepper as well as the jalapenos, and roughly chop the onion, garlic, and cucumbers. When the corn is finished, reserve about 1/2 cup of kernels for garnishing, and place the rest in a blender along with the other veggies. Blend until pureed.

Take the corn broth, and pass it through a strainer. Add one cup of the broth to a pot along with the chicken stock and pureed corn mixture. Stir, and season with ancho chili powder and salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and let reduce for 20 minutes to half an hour, until you have a somewhat thick consistency that you’re happy with. Pass through a strainer into a bowl, and chill until ready to serve.

Strawberry Gazpacho with Pancetta

This version of gazpacho comes care of the Eleven Madison Park cookbook, with some slight modifications. The moment I came across this recipe I figured I absolutely had to try it, due to both how awesome it looked and the fact that it doesn't require your own personal brigade to pull off like some of the other recipes. Cleaning and prepping all the strawberries was time consuming, but other than that it's a simple recipe. I went a little overboard on adding hot sauce, but there's worse things in life to go overboard on. I definitely want to make this again, but substitute some of the strawberries for watermelon.

Gazpacho (serves 8)

6 cups strawberries, hulled (about 2 lbs.)

½ cup extra virgin olive oil

1 tomato, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 large cucumber, peeled and diced

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed but left whole

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1.5 cups croutons (recipe follows)

1.5 teaspoons salt

Hot sauce, to taste

Hull the strawberries (remove the stem part) and quarter, and place in a large bowl along with the green and red diced bell pepper, diced tomato, diced cucumber, garlic, 1.5 cups bread crumbs, red wine vinegar, and salt.

Cover and let marinade at room temperature for 3-6 hours. Puree in batches in a blender on high speed until as smooth as possible. Strain and transfer to a large bowl/serving vessel. Taste and adjust for salt, and add hot sauce to taste. Refrigerate (unless you want hot-spacho) until cold.

Croutons:

3 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed but kept whole

5 sprigs thyme

3.5 cups hearty stale bread

Remove the crusts from the bread and cut into 1 inch cubes. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the oil and the garlic; when the garlic starts to sizzle, add the bread and thyme. Cook until the bread starts to color (5 to 8 minutes? I wasn’t really paying close attention to how long it took, exactly), but be careful not to burn them. Add 1.5 cups to the gazpacho mixture, and reserve 2 cups (let them cool) for serving.

Strawberry confit:

16 small strawberries, hulled and halved lengthwise

1.5 teaspoons olive oil

1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar.

Preheat the oven to 195°F.  Line a baking sheet with a silicone baking mat. Hull and halve the strawberries, and toss with the olive oil. Place cut side down on the baking sheet, and dust with the confectioners’ sugar. Bake for 1.5 hours. Flip the strawberries and bake for 30 minutes more. Let cool on the sheet, then store in a flat, airtight container coated with olive oil to keep the strawberries hydrated. The strawberry confit can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator.

To serve:

Gazpacho

Reserved croutons

Strawberry confit

Pancetta

Basil

Coriander Flowers

Black Pepper

Extra Virgin Olive oil

Pour the gazpacho into chilled bowls, and throw everything else on top to make it look purdy.

Sopa de Albondigas

Albondigas are traditionally beef meatballs, but since I had chicken stock in my freezer , I decided to make chicken meatballs… and then when the grocery store didn’t have any ground chicken, I ended up using ground turkey. Here’s the recipe as I made it; going forward I think I’d only include 1 chipotle chile (or maybe exclude them altogether).

For the Meatballs:

1 lb ground turkey

¾ cup cooked rice (1/4 cup uncooked)

1 egg

2 jalapenos, diced

1 teaspoon chopped mint

½ teaspoon Mexican oregano

½ teaspoon cumin

Salt and pepper

For the Broth:

1 poblano, roasted

1 clove garlic, roasted

1 14.5 oz can roasted tomatoes

2 chipotles in adobo, roughly chopped

6 cups chicken stock

Garnish:

Cilantro

Avocado

Red onion

Combine all the meatball ingredients together in a bowl and work everything together with your hands. Divide into 16 golf ball sized meatballs.

Heat up your broiler and put the poblano under it for a few minutes on each side, until the skin is blackened. Roast the garlic clove the same way (leave the skin on; it’ll only take a few minutes).

Remove the skin and seeds from the poblano and roughly chop. Add to a blender along with the garlic (remove the skin and roughly chop), tomatoes and 2 chipotles. Blend until smooth. Add this mixture to a pot along with the 6 cups of chicken stock. Bring it up to a simmer and add in the meatballs. Simmer for 20-30 minutes, until the meatballs are cooked through. Serve with cilantro, avocado and red onion.