Gazpacho

Gazpacho andaluz.  The real deal: my grandma's recipe.

INGREDIENTS 

5 large red, ripe tomatos (or 8-9 medium sized tomatoes)*
1/2 cucumber (mediterranean type)

1 green bell pepper

a little less than 1/4 onion (medium sized)
1 garlic clove
1 slice of bread**
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3-4 tbsp vinegar (red wine vinegar or balsamic are the best choices)
salt to taste
cold water (if needed)

*This is the key ingredient.  Get the best tomatoes you can find!
**Skip bread for GLUTEN-FREE.

PREPARATION

Wash all vegetables.
Place the slice of bread in a bowl and add 1/2 cup water.  Reserve.
Peel the cucumber and cut in half (you'll only need one half).
Remove stems and cores from the tomatoes.  Cut the tomatoes in quarters.
Peel the onion and cut in quarters.
Remove stem and seeds from bell pepper and cut in halves.
Peel and mince garlic.

Place tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, garlic, bread, olive oil, vinegar and salt in a large bowl -or food processor- and blend until smooth.  It will take a few minutes.
Add cold water if needed, or if you prefer a lighter texture.
Taste, add more salt or vinegar if necessary and blend.

Strain the puree to remove tomato and pepper peels (trust me, it's worth it).

Place in a proper container and keep in the fridge (3 days).
Serve cold!

How to serve it:

1) in a bowl: you eat it with a spoon. You can garnish it with finely chopped cucumber, pepper, onion, tomato and croutons.  The garnishes are served in small bowls so you can add whatever you prefer (or not).

2) in a glass: add cold water to get a lighter texture and drink it!

Salmorejo With Avocado (Andalusian Cold Tomato Soup)

This cold tomato soup is typical from Andalusia, Southern Spain, the land of my ancestors. 

The traditional recipe does not have avocado in it, but I love the creaminess it adds to the already delicious soup.

INGREDIENTS

6 large red tomatoes (sweet, organic, flavorful  -forget about the other ones!)

1 avocado

1 slice fresh bread

1 or 2 garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like it...)

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if you have Spanish olive oil, this is the moment to use it)

2 tbsp white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, if you don't have the wine kind)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup cold bottled water

Salt to taste

PREPARATION

How to peel the tomatoes:

Prepare a big bowl with cold water and reserve.

Place a large pot with water over high heat and bring it to boil. 

Wash the tomatoes and make a small cut on every one (around the stem part) and throw them in the boiling water for a few seconds. Remove them quickly from the boiling water using a strainer and place them in the bowl with cold water (you don't want to cook them).

Now you'll be able to peel the tomatoes very easily!

Cut them in quarters and reserve.

Wash the avocado, cut it in half, remove the pit and peel it. 

Place the avocado and tomatoes in a food processor and blend. 

Add the bread, tearing it into pieces with your hands and blend.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Serve very cold!

You can keep it in the refrigerator in a proper container for two days.

Enoki Spinach Soup

10-minute light and tasty soup

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

Soup broth:

4 cups water (or vegetable stock)

1 1/2 tbsp vegetable boullion paste* (skip this if you are using vegetable broth)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tsp rice vinegar

1 cup fresh spinach

1 green onion

1/2 pack enoki mushrooms

1 pack udon noodles**

*I usually use "Better Than Boullion".

**Use soy, sweet potato or rice noodles for GLUTEN-FREE.

PREPARATION

Place water and vegetable bullion paste (or vegetable stock) in a pot over medium heat. Mix well.

Add soy sauce and sugar. Stir.

Wash the spinach and remove the stems. Add leaves to soup.

Add noodles and cook for 5 minutes.

Cut the green onion into thin slices and add. Stirring occasionally.

Add sesame oil, enoki mushrooms and rice vinegar. Stir and serve immediately.

Corn Soup With Avocado

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

1 onion
2 cups sweet corn (cooked)*
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk (14 fl oz)
1 avocado (small)
lemon pepper (or black pepper)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger
salt
6 tbsp olive oil

*Frozen sweet corn also works for this recipe!


PREPARATION

Cut the onion into fine strips.

Put the olive oil in a big pot over medium heat. Add the onion. 

Fry on medium heat until golden, stirring often. It can take about 10-15 minutes.

Add the sweet corn, stir, cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth and cook for 10 minutes.

Place the soup in a different bowl where you can use a hand-blender, or place it in a big food processor or blender. Blend until you have a smooth puree.

Strain the puree mixture to remove corn peels. This is an important step for texture. 

Place the puree back in the cooking pot.

Add the coconut milk slowly while stirring, and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Turn off the heat, add ginger and sesame oil and stir. 

Serve on bowls.

Cut the avocado in strips and place it on the soup. It will remain on the surface.

Add lemon pepper and serve immediately.

Miso Soup With Shiitake, Tofu And Udon Noodles

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

6 dried shiitake mushrooms
1 1/2 tbsp Japanese white miso
1 tbsp dried wakame algae
1/2 piece of fresh silk tofu (soft)
1 package udon noodles*
2 tsp vegetable bouillon paste**
1 green onion
4 cups water

*Use rice, sweet potato, or soy noodles for GLUTEN-FREE.
**I usually use "Better Than Boullion".

PREPARATION

Place shiitake mushrooms in a pot and add water. Bring to boil and then simmer on low for 15 minutes (or until mushrooms are soft).
Remove the mushrooms and cut out the stem. Slice mushrooms into thin strips. Reserve.
Add the vegetable bouillon paste to the pot.
Keep broth temperature on low.

Take 1/2 cup of the shiitake broth from the pot and in a separate bowl add white miso.
Mix well. Stir until smooth. Reserve. (This step is important because if the miso is added directly to the pot it does not mix well, thus affecting flavor and texture).

Add shiitake mushrooms, wakame seaweed and noodles to the pot.
Cut tofu into small cubes and add to soup. Cook for 5 minutes.
Remove the outer layer of the green onion. Cut into small thin slices and add to the soup.

Slowly add the miso broth prepared from bowl to the pot and stir well (miso should not boil at any time). Serve immediately!