Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Gazpacho soup revisited


Gazpacho is the "piece de resistance" of Andalousian cuisine, so I like to try different recipes of it, in order to find interesting nuances. Yesterday I followed these useful recipes:

http://cadiz.cosasdecome.es/receta/gazpacho-clasico/

https://www.elcorteingles.es/aptc/recetas/gazpacho-andaluz-tradicional/


Ingredients:

1) 2 kilos of ripe tomatoes (in my version I only used 2.5 pounds, which is about 5 to 7 tomatoes in the vine). The key is that the tomatoes have to be well ripe and red, juicy, preferrably organic.

2) 1 green bell pepper, without the stem or the seeds.

3) 1 cucumber (if it's too big, use just half), peeled roughly. The point is not to peel it perfectly well, so a little dark green provides a tad bitterness.

4) 1 clove of garlic, preferrably organic. It is the core of the gazpacho, so use a good one, medium size, and peel it before chopping and putting in the blender. The punch of the garlic flavor reinforcing the tomato and vegetable blend is a winner.

5) A big slice of country bread, preferrably from the day before, soaked in water.

6) Spanish extra virgin olive oil. I used 150 mililiters; it could be even better if you use 200 to 250 mililiters, you decide. The amount of vinegar is a third or a quarter of that.

7) Sherry vinegar from Jerez, Spain. I used 50 mililiters.

8) Spanish sea salt.

9) Half a teaspoon of cumin.

10) Half a liter of spring water. Do not use tap water. In gourmet soups it is of the utmost importance to only use quality spring water.

Preparation:

I placed at the bottom of the blender the olive oil, then I chopped and poured all the solid ingredients, taking the stem out of the tomatoes, the cucumber, and the pepper. Then I added the garlic, salt, cumin, the bread, and the vinegar. I poured half a liter of water and blended it all for 5 to 10 minutes. Then I sifted the blended gazpacho with a colander or strainer and put the container glass in the refrigerator for 5 hours.

Serving:

Ready to serve as a soup in a plate so you eat it with a tablespoon (with garnishing in the bowl of bits of cucumber, boiled egg slices and ibérico or serrano ham, or bacon), or even in a glass, as if it were a glass of vegetable juice. This healthy Spanish gazpacho certainly is the best cold soup in the world to refresh yourself in the heat of the summer. Enjoy!

Saturday, May 19, 2018

Classic Cafe Mocha

The black chocolate provides sweetness and balance to the coffee.

Ingredients: - 2% skim milk
                    - 1 piece of black chocolate
                    - 1 teaspoon of brown sugar
                    - 1 teaspoon of instant coffee

I heat the milk in a cup in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds. Immediately l drop in 1 piece of black Belgium Cote d'Or chocolate and start stirring vigorously. Then l add 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1 teaspoon of Colombian instant coffee La Colombiana, and keep stirring to mix it all very well, and serve it ready to enjoy!