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Gazpacho to the Rescue
The heat this week continues. It’s been hot, in the 90s by day, slightly cooler, though still warm at night. Howard’s fixed up a complicated system of fans that has kept the house reasonably comfortable. In the evenings, we’ve gone out to do errands, driving around in the convertible with the top down. What a life!
I’m still trying to avoid heating up the kitchen, but going out to eat is never quite as satisfying as eating at home.
A bowl of gazpacho is just the right thing for this kind of weather. No cooking required. I’m sure my recipe is far from authentic, but it hits the spot. I’ve making it since I was in high school though I’ve changed it over time.
One of the problems with gazpacho is that, here in New England, local tomatoes aren’t ripe as early as the hot weather sets in. A few years ago, in a recipe from a flyer I picked up at Whole Foods, I found an answer to that problem – canned whole tomatoes. Admittedly, it’s not the same as fresh tomatoes, but it certainly gives an early summer option for consistently good cold soup.
Here’s my game plan: In the morning, before I leave for work, I puree the tomatoes and seasonings in the blender. Then I put the puree in the refrigerator to chill for the day. When I get home, I chop up the vegetables, stir them in to the puree, and, voila, refreshing soup for dinner.
Gazpacho
Serves 4
1 28-oz can whole tomatoes with juice
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ tsp Tabasco
Generous handful of fresh basil leaves
1 cucumber
1 red or green pepper
½ cup chopped red onion
Salt & pepper to taste
Add tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire, Tabasco and herbs in the blender. Puree until smooth. At this point, you can chill the puree before continuing.
Peel the cucumber. Cut it in half lengthwise. With a spoon, scoop out the seeds and discard. Chop the remaining flesh into ¼-inch cubes. Cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds, Chop into ¼-inch cubes.
Combine the chopped vegetables (cucumber, pepper, and onion) into the tomato puree. Season to taste.
For a Mexican-flavored variation, I user lime juice instead of vinegar, ½ diced jalapeno for the Tabasco, cilantro for the basil leaves, and 2-3 sliced scallions for the onions.
Suddenly Stormy
Early this afternoon, Howard sent me a “news flash” about a fast storm coming through the area during this evening’s commute. There would be snow, high winds, and possible whiteout conditions. As reported, wet snow came down in the afternoon, blowing against the windows, and then, it stopped. When I left work this evening, the sun was shining. Well, actually, it was dusk, but the sun had been shining. Shortly before I headed home, I noticed that the setting sun cast a lovely pink light on the afternoon’s dusting of snow.
When I got home, Bella and I suited up for her evening walk. I put on waterproof shoes, a hat, gloves, nothing special because the storm had passed. The sidewalk was a little icier than I expected. Instead of detouring back inside for my YakTrax, I chose to just walk slowly. It was a bit treacherous in spots, but, I tried to walk on snow wherever possible, and we ambled along, enjoying the brisk evening.
All of a sudden, I noticed it was cloudy again. Within seconds, I was in the middle of a snow squall, nearly whiteout conditions. I think the sudden weather change made Bella nervous. She started to walk faster, causing me to slip and land flat on my back. It knocked my hat off!
The snow was blowing horizontally, and I could hardly see. We were around the halfway point, so it didn’t make sense to turn back, but we were still 15 minutes from home, under normal conditions. All we could do was barrel ahead.
Fortunately, the plan for dinner was hot soup: Caldo Verde, a Portuguese kale soup. I had prepared most of the components the night before. I had already cooked the sausage and sweet potatoes. I had also had the base, the broth with potatoes, prepared as well. All I had to do tonight was to slice the kale and heat it all up.
Howard commented on how this was the most local meal we’ve made in a while. The homemade chicken stock was stashed in the freezer. The onions and kale were from the past weekend’s farmers market, the potatoes and sweet potatoes were stored from our Winter CSA share, and the sausage was from Chestnut Farms.
Caldo Verde
Serves 4-6
(Adapted from The Boston Globe Magazine, January 3, 2010)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1½ sweet potatoes, peeled and diced in ¾-inch pieces
½ lb hot Italian sausage links
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 quarts chicken stock
½ lb red potatoes, peeled and sliced ¼-inch thick
1 bunch kale
2 tsp cider vinegar
Salt & pepper to taste
Roast the sweet potatoes: Preheat oven to 450F. Toss diced sweet potatoes with 1 Tbsp olive oil, a pinch of salt and some freshly ground pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet for 25 minutes.
Preheat broiler. Broil sausage links on top rack, about 5 minutes per side, until cooked through. Cool until you can handle them. Slice into ½ inch rounds, and then cut the rounds in half again for half moons.
Heat 1 Tbsp olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the stock and potatoes. Bring to a boil. Cook until the potatoes are very soft, about 15 minutes. Using a potato masher, mash the potatoes in the pot.
Prepare kale: Cut out the center stem from the leaves. Cut the top part of the leaves along the center stem. Stack several leaves flat. Roll them lengthwise into a tight cigar. Cut the cigar crosswise, as thin as possible. (I rinsed the leaves after preparing them.)
Add the greens, sausage, and sweet potatoes to the broth mixture. Stir and simmer until the greens are tender, about 5 minutes. Add the cider vinegar, and salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.
Serve immediately.
The sweet potatoes, sausage, and broth mixture can be cooked the day before and stored in the refrigerator.
A Plateful of Happiness 