Lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, bell peppers, carrot, onion.
I make my own basic dressing with 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon of red wine or sherry vinegar, a small garlic clove mashed, 1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, salt and freshly ground pepper and a pinch of Italian dried herbs – whisk well with a fork.
I often add Feta cheese and chopped Calamata olives and/or tuna or garbanzos.
Wikipedia has this to say about gazpacho
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.
I have tweaked various gazpacho recipes to come up with this version.
I always use pounds and ounces rather than cups – it is far more accurate – you can count on the recipe always turning out the same. If you don’t have a kitchen scale – buy one!
Weigh the vegetables AFTER peeling, de-seeding etc.
Put ALL the following ingredients into a big bowl or a large pitcher.
1 pound of fresh plum tomatoes – finely chopped – I don’t peel or de-seed them
4 ounces red bell peppers – finely chopped
8 ounces cucumber peeled and seeds removed – finely chopped. I prefer the slender cucumbers with the thin skin called “pepino chino” here. I think they are called English or hothouse cucumbers in the US.
4 ounces red onion – finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic – put through a garlic press
1/4 cup good extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime (or lemon) juice
1/4 cup of red wine (or sherry vinegar) I like the sherry vinegar best
2 cups of beef broth (not hot)
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (I’d use Italian flat leaf if we could get it here in Panama)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon coarsely ground pepper
1 quart of tomato juice (I use V-8 juice because we don’t have any good brands of plain tomato juice here.)
Tabasco to taste
salt of needed – I never add it because the beef broth and the juice are salty enough
I use an immersion blender to blend the liquid ingredients first – to sort of imulsify them. Then I add the chopped veggies. Give it another whirl with the blender but don’t overdo it – you want it chunky.
You can garnish it with all sorts of things:
more of the veggies used in the recipe
diced avocado
garlic croutons
crumbled feta cheese and chopped calamata olives for a Greek version
sliced spring onions
etc…
It should be served well chilled and it’s even better the next day. I have no idea how long it keeps – because it’s gone before it has time to sit around very long. My husband David is a meat and potatoes kind of guy – not too fond of “healthy – really good for you” food – but he loves it!
NOTE:
My wonderful housekeeper Elly chops everything by hand but you can do it in the food processor. I saw Ina Garten – The Barefoot Contessa – make gazpacho on TV and she put the veggies in the processor one at a time – don’t make mush – just chop them.
Enjoy!
Or Dressing if you are Southern (like me!)
I make this and the Broccoli Casserole that follows EVERY year at Thanksgiving and Christmas. And every year I try and change the menu and the family says – no way – it has to be the same! My daughter is 38 and she has been eating this since she was a child and now my 13 year old granddaughter is just as insistent that things stay the same.
INGREDIENTS:
6 (6 ounce) packages of Kraft Stove-Top Stuffing Mix (pork flavor)
2 cups finely chopped celery (firmly packed)
2 cups finely chopped onion (firmly packed)
2 cups finely chopped red, yellow or green peppers (or a mixture of colors) firmly packed
1 pound coarsely chopped fresh mushrooms (button or baby portobello or a mixture of both)
1 cup butter (not margerine!)
1 pound bulk pork sausage (Jimmy Dean’s or equivalent)
6 whole eggs (lightly beaten)
8 cups of boiling water
DIRECTIONS:
Open the stuffing packages and dump them in a large bowl.
Melt the butter in a large frying pan and cook the mushrooms until done. Add to the bowl with the crumbs.
In the same pan, in the remaining butter, cook the chopped vegetables until limp and transparent. Add a bit more butter if needed. Add to the bowl.
In the same pan cook the sausage, crumbling it up as it cooks. Add to the bowl.
Add the beaten eggs to the bowl and mix all of the ingredients well.
Pour the boiling water over the crumb/veggie/sausage mixture – mix lightly to moisten the crumbs and let stand a few minutes to absorb the water.
Spoon mixture into a well buttered 10″ x 15″ ovenproof casserole. Don’t mash it down spoon it in lightly.
Cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour ( cover lightly with foil the first 1/2 hour.)
I have a kitchen scale and all of my recipes are in pounds and ounces. I checked online for the equivalents in case you don’t have a scale (you really should – it is so much more accurate!)
3 pounds of raw broccoli flowerets (about 20 cups) No big chunks of stems – just the little “trees.”
Steam the broccoli for about 7-8 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
Coarsely grate 1 pound of sharp cheddar cheese
In a bowl mix well:
1 cup Helmann’s mayonnaise
2 cans Cream of Broccoli soup
1 tablespoon crushed garlic (or to taste)
1 tablespoon good quality curry powder
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt
In a large bowl mix the cooled broccoli with the mayo/soup mixture and 2 cups of the grated cheese.
Toss it gently with (well scrubbed) hands until all the broccoli is coated.
Pour into a buttered 13” x 9” ovenproof baking dish.
Top with the remaining 2 cups of cheese.
Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for about an hour, until heated through and the cheese is bubbly.
|
