I just got back from a glorious two-week vacation, with a few days in Venice followed by a road trip through just about every region of Slovenia. I am tan, relaxed and a few pounds heavier thanks to no fewer than 5 tasting menus and what was generally just delicious, homemade, local food and wine. I’m going to give you the run-down on what we ate and what we saw but I need to get my thoughts and my photos together first. In the meantime, I’m back in New York, and instead of cooling off in the Adriatic I’m cooling off in the air conditioning of my office, trying to avoid going outside lest I melt. If there is any time to avoid being in the hot kitchen, it’s the present, and so I wanted to share with you this fantastic green gazpacho which is chilly and refreshing and will cool you right down.
I’d say that more than half of the times I cook or bake something new, I learn a lesson. I’m okay with this as long as I can learn the lesson once and not repeat the mistake. In the case of this gazpacho, the lesson I learned the hard way was: an immersion blender is not always easier than a real blender. Given my limited kitchen storage space and propensity for buying less than useful tools like tortilla presses and dumpling steamers, I don’t own a standing blender. And so far, I’ve been able to make do with a) spending a lot of money to buy smoothies instead of making them, b) using my food processor instead, to sometimes disastrous effect when I go above the liquid line and c) pretending my immersion blender is the same as an upright blender. Well, folks, I’m here to tell you that it is not.
So. If you have a standing blender, please do yourself a favor and use it to make this soup. If you do not, then rev up your immersion blender and prepare to work up a heavy sweat and build a few centimeters of additional muscle mass in your dominant arm. By the time I was 75% done blending this soup I was sitting on the counter next to the pot and alternating arms, literally wiping sweat off my brow. You can skip the gym.
I have to say, though, that even though I was ready for a shower and subsequent nap after the preparation, the soup was totally worth it. If I had a real blender I’d make it once a week. It’s such a great way to get a huge serving of veggies into your day in a delicious way, and it’s just so refreshing. And pretty! Also, if you haven’t made homemade sourdough croutons in your life thus far, you’re in for a real treat. You will eat way too many of these because they are simply delicious. You might make more just to snack on, sans soup.
A word of warning –if you do not like spicy, either omit the jalapeno pepper or just use half of it. I used a whole one (with seeds!) and my soup was definitely spicier than some would enjoy. So just make sure you tailor it to your spicy tolerance.
I hope this soup helps get you through the heat wave in one piece. Stay cool, everyone.
Ingredients
- 2 celery sticks (including the leaves)
- 2 small green peppers, deseeded
- 6 mini cucumbers (12oz/350g in total), peeled
- 3 slices stale white bread (4¼ oz/120g in total), crusts removed
- 1 fresh green chilli (or less if you don’t want it too hot)
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp sugar
- 5¼ oz/150g walnuts, lightly toasted
- 7 oz/200g baby spinach
- 1 oz/25g basil leaves
- 1/3 oz/10g parsley
- 4 tbsp sherry vinegar
- 1 cup/225ml olive oil
- 1 1/3 oz/40g Greek yogurt
- about 2 cups/450ml water
- 8 3/4 oz/250g ice cubes
- 2 tsp salt
- white pepper
- 2 thick slices sourdough bread, (5¼ oz/150g in total)
- 4 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Start with the croutons. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Cut the bread into 1" cubes and toss them with the oil and a bit of salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the croutons turn golden and crisp. Remove from the oven and allow to cool down.
- Roughly chop up the celery, peppers, cucumbers, bread, chilli and garlic. Place in a blender and add the sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, vinegar, oil, yogurt, most of the water, half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper. Blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water, if needed, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the seasoning.
- Lastly, add the remaining ice and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little.
- Serve at once, with the croutons.
Notes
From Plenty
