On occasion, grammar’s not the point. A friend used to say, about a given summer, “Itap a blister.” Hereabouts, this one certainly is that. So, Get Cooking has five Wednesdays to be with you this August, and each will be about cool food. Not “with it” food: cold comestibles, no-kitchen-heat nosh.
Chill.
This recipe is for white gazpacho, a bleached twist on the usual standard that features tomatoes and red peppers, plus some hints for healthy hacks for all soups cold.
The most important cooking tip for preparing un-hot soups is about salt. When any food is cool or cold, the sensation of salt is dulled. Many cold soups start out life as hot or even just room temperature food: sautéed vegetables, say, or ingredients assembled then puréed. Don’t salt these; salt at the end, after the refrigerator or addition of ice has chilled the soup.
More heart-healthy hacks:
- Use processed juices, especially tomato juice, sparingly if at all; they often contain much salt, plus tomato juice sports flavors of cooked, not fresh, tomato.
- Bake or dry-roast croutons from old bread, herbs and ground pepper. Fried-in-oil croutons are tasty, but also laden with fat.
- Don’t substitute vegetable for olive oil; the latter has flavor, more than whatap usually necessary in a cold soup. Just use less of it if you’re on the lookout for fat.
- Sub out Greek-style yogurt (or cashew cream) for sour cream or crème fraiche.
- Avocados will introduce creaminess; fruits such as pear, watermelon and many other melons will bring on the sweetness.
- Crumbled bread often thickens cold soups. A healthier sub may be ground-up nuts (such as almonds, walnuts or cashews). Chopped nuts also can replace croutons.
- Amp up flavor by roasting vegetables ahead of time, cooling them, then proceeding.
- Worcestershire? Uh-uh. Soy or miso instead.
- Zing, snap and fire come by way of chili heat, either fresh or in a sauce.
- Raw garlic, of course, but easy does it at the get-go. It potentiates and becomes stronger in flavor and aroma as it sits around, especially after being pulverized and added to a liquid (such as a cold soup).
Chef John’s White Gazpacho
From .
Chef John: “This is similar to a classic gazpacho, but with no tomato and peppers.”
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced crosswise
2 English cucumbers, peeled, quartered and chopped
8 green grapes
1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 cup crème fraiche
1 cup French bread cubes
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
1 1/2 cups cold water, or more as needed
Salt, plus more to taste
1 pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste
Directions
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir leeks until soft, 10-15 minutes. Remove to a plate and allow to cool. Place cucumbers in a blender with grapes, almonds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, crème fraiche, bread cubes, vinegar, cooled leeks and water. Purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a fine mesh sieve. Cover and chill for 1 to 2 hours. Taste and season with salt and cayenne pepper. If needed, add some more vinegar. Serve garnished with dill oil (see note), thinly sliced grapes, slivered almonds and fresh dill.
Notes: Make a garnish of dill oil for drizzling on top of the soup. Simply smash some fresh dill in mortar and pestle and slowly drizzle in vegetable oil. Freeze some soup in ice cube trays and serve in the bottom of each cup to keep the soup cold.
