White Gazpacho

White Gazpacho. Cold soup is not something I had ever entertained eating until I went to work at the Manor. Soup for me was always a Winter thing. I just could not imagine eating soup in the summer, let alone cold soup.
It was a popular starter however, for the ladies luncheons and simple dinner parties during the summer months when I worked at the Manor. Never a white one however, mostly just the red one.
I obviously had to taste it (she didn't like her staff eating her food) to make sure it was okay and I thought it quite delicious. Kind of like a liquified salad. (I know a really generalized interpretation!)
It was not something I ever made at home however. I always thought it a lot of work, a lot of ingredients and more than a bit pretentious . . . until now.

I've slowly been building up my cookery book collection again since the big move. This is one I bought on a whim. Smitten Kitchen Every Day, by Deb Perelman. I have always been a fan of Smitten Kitchen.
I was not disappointed. It is filled with lovely recipes, most of them quite un-pretentious, approachable and simple to execute. I highly recommend.
One of the recipes I immediately flagged in it was the White Gazpacho, although she does call it Cucumber Yogurt Gazpacho with Mint, Almonds and Grapes. The name alone was quite a mouthful, so I have shortened it to what it is. Simply, White Gazpacho.
I was greatly intrigued by the recipe. First of all it used only a few ingredients. Unless it is a really special occasion, I don't like using recipes that have an ingredients list a mile long. Short and sweet usually serves me quite well.
Secondly, most of the ingredients were really simple and easy to find. All except for the mint that is, but more about that later.
I am not a huge fan of recipes that use unusual or hard to find ingredients. Ingredients that are expensive and that you know in all likelihood you are never going to use again. Food is too expensive to waste my money that way.
Finally, the photograph of the soup in the book looked delicious. It was a hot day. I wanted something to eat that was refreshing. This fit the bill.
The main ingredient was English cucumbers. I am a huge fan of English cucumbers. I use them all year round. Never bitter, largely seedless, they are something I always have in my refrigerator. And most of the time, depending on what you are using them for, you never have to peel them.
Buttermilk. Buttermilk is something I also almost always have in my refrigerator as well. Great for baking with and now, great for soup!
I also almost always have shallots in my cupboard, stored with my onions and garlic. Shallots are from the onion family. Not quite as harsh in flavor, they are much sweeter and milder, which lends them beautifully for use in dishes like this where they are going to be used raw.
As I said, the mint was a problem. I could not find mint anywhere at all when I went looking for it. In the UK, mint was something which I had to restrain in my garden. I was used to having lots of it to use in cooking.
Not so much here. I haven't yet seen it. So I did the next best thing. I used Mint Jelly, and I have to say it worked surprisingly really well. Really, REALLY well. Trust me on this.
The lack of fresh mint is also why I garnished with fresh flat leaf parsley. Ms Perleman used mint leaves. No mint leaves here.
I also left off the sliced raw green chilis. I am not a huge fan of those, whilst I do enjoy them cooked. I think they were more for color as a garnish than anything else.
Greek yogurt. Something else I always have in the house. I enjoy it with my granola in the morning. I have always used Total Greek yogurt, but it is something else which I have not seen here in the Valley.
Today I used PC Greek Yogurt. 2% fat. You use what you have to use. Its as simple as that. (She does say if you can't find buttermilk, you can use more yogurt in it's place, in the same quantity. 1/2 cup or 125g)
I confess up front, I reduced the recipe to make only one serving. Successfully. I didn't want to be eating cold soup for days, although this soup is so delicious that probably wouldn't be much of a hardship.
Oh yes, make sure you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil, or at least the best one you can afford to buy. I use Bertolli. It really does make a difference in taste to use a better quality oil if you can.
Toasted almonds. What a pretty garnish they made, along with the thinly sliced green grapes. I love almonds anyways, and these added a nice touch.
Generally speaking, White Gazpacho uses a base of blanched almonds and garlic, which are mashed to a paste, and also white bread. This soup uses none of those, which also makes it beautifully gluten free. A plus for those who are gluten intolerant.

Whilst this soup does contain many of the elements of the traditional white gazpacho, it uses them in quite a different way, which I really liked.
I thought the garnish of the sliced green grapes was really pretty. And I loved the use of white wine vinegar rather than sherry vinegar. It helped to keep the soup white in my opinion.

All in all, this was a really delicious soup and I found myself wishing I had made more than just one serving of it. It was the perfect way to begin the first day of summer however!
I really hope you will give it a go, and if you are wanting to reduce the quantities, just message me and I will let you know what my measurements were!
I think this is a lovely cold soup that anyone would enjoy. Quick to make, easy to make, unpretentious and most delicious!

Yield: 4Author: Marie RaynerPrep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 Mininactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 10 MThis delicious cold soup makes the perfect light lunch for when the outdoor temperatures begin to rise and you don't want to heat up your kitchen. Makes an excellent first course for a luncheon as well. It is surprisingly refreshing and very tasty!

Ingredients

2 large English Cucumbers, washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into chunks
1 cup (245g) low fat Greek yogurt
1/2 cup (120ml) cold buttermilk
2 TBS (30ml) good white wine vinegar
1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
1/4 cup (60ml) good extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
1 TBS mint jelly
fine sea salt to taste (about 1/2 TBS)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)

To finish:

1/4 cup (4 TBS) flaked almonds, lightly toasted
a handful of green grapes, thinly sliced
good extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
chopped fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish

Instructions

Place all of your soup ingredients into a large blender. Blitz together until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Pour into a container, tightly cover and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
When ready to serve, give another quick blitz to combine and divide between four chilled soup bowls. (If you wish you can put it through a wire mesh strainer, but its not really necessary.)
Garnish each bowl with some flaked almonds, sliced grapes, a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped flat leaf parsley.

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