I have been on a chilled soup for lunch kick recently. They are easy to make, are healthy for the most part, and I happen to quite like soup. They are also a filling, veggie-centric alternative to pretty much anything else that I might want to cram down my throat for lunch during lockdown.
This is not the gazpacho that is served in the States, which (to me) always looks more like a large serving of salsa roja than anything else, and mostly tastes of cucumber and sad chefs' broken dreams. This is a vibrant, happy (for want of another adjective) soup, based on one that a friend from Barcelona used to make in the summer, one that you can quite see being served in a frosted lowball glass, as part of a tapas meal eaten at an outdoor restaurant during a summer trip to Spain. My friend always blended hers and then passed it through a sieve so that it was smooth and the olive oil created a creamy, emulsified mouthfeel. I skip that step, partly because I am lazy, and partly because the Vitamix blender that I acquired a few months ago does a fabulous job without the extra step.
Besides the fact that it is ready in under 5 minutes, another fabulous thing about this soup is that it will take on any vegetables that you happen to have on hand. Below is today's recipe, but you can adapt this to your needs and wants and still end up with a fabulous tasting soup which, by some alchemical mystery - in my house anyway - always ends up being orange hued.
This tastes better chilled and can be eaten the next day, though the garlic taste can get amped up to overwhelming so I tend to avoid making a huge batch for later. In an ideal world, I blitz this up while waiting for my morning coffee water to boil and it is perfectly chilled and the flavors married as they should be by lunchtime.
3 large, ripe tomatoes
6 mini cucumbers (if organic no need to peel)
the white part of 2 scallions
6 radishes
1/4 bunch of parsley (leaves only)
Enough of a jalapeno pepper to give it the kick that you desire or 2 tsps homemade sriracha
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsps red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil + more for drizzling
Salt
Place all of the ingredients, washed and cut into pieces the size that your machine can handle, in your blender. Blend on high until you have a smooth soup. If you feel the soup is too thick, you can add a little bit of water.
Place your blender, covered, in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to chill and to let the flavors hang out for a while.
When ready to serve, remove from the fridge. Adjust seasoning. You may need more salt or want more vinegar.
Pour into 4 chilled soup bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Comments