Green Gazpacho Soup

This cucumber and green grape gazpacho soup recipe is a variation of the chilled Spanish soup ajo blanco. It’s so refreshing and always a huge hit! Topped with a spicy tomato salsa, it looks striking, and with a hunk of bread on the side, can be a nice summer lunch or dinner.

Sometimes I find myself baking bread solely for the purpose of making bread crumbs. This is one of my favorite uses for a stash of fresh crumbs: cucumber and green grape gazpacho, a variation of the chilled Spanish soup ajo blanco.

Ajo blanco , also known as white gazpacho, is a chilled summer soup originally from Andalusia. Arabs, who ruled the Iberian Peninsula for centuries, brought almonds to the region and are believed to have introduced this soup as well, which is typically made with almonds, bread, and garlic.

Green grapes are a usual garnish, a sweet counterpoint to the bracing purée, but here they join the mix, along with cucumber and fresh dill, all of which tinge the soup a light green. Topped with a spicy tomato salsa, this striking soup is a nice addition to a summer lunch or dinner.

Fresh Bread Crumbs

This recipe comes from my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs , specifically the third chapter of the book: Crumbs.

If you have yet to discover the wonderful world of bread crumbs, watch the video below! From halloumi and bread skewers to panzanella salad to crispy goat cheese rounds to tomato and bread soup to frittata with mustard croutons to broiled striped bass with capers, the uses for bread crumbs are vast.

Happy Crumbing, Everyone!

My Book: Bread Toast Crumbs :

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From my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs

For the Gazpacho:

• 1 English cucumber (about 12 ounces ), thinly sliced
• ½ pound seedless green grapes, halved
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 slices bread, torn into pieces
• ¼ cup almonds
• ¼ cup fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 to ½ cup yogurt
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Tomato Salsa:

• 1¼ cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup finely diced red onion
• 1 jalapeño, finely minced (about 1 tablespoon ), seeded if sensitive to heat
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar, plus more as needed

1. Make the gazpacho: In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, grapes, and garlic. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the vinegar, toss to coat, and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour ⅓ cup water over the bread. Let it sit until it softens, about 10 minutes.
3. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds, tossing frequently, until fragrant and starting to color, about 5 minutes. Immediately transfer to a plate to cool, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the almonds to a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add the cucumber mixture, soaked bread, dill, oil, yogurt, and a grinding of black pepper to the processor bowl. Purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Make the salsa: In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, salt, oil, and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Spoon a tablespoon of the salsa on each bowl of soup just before serving, passing more on the side.

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Food Processor
• Cuisine: Spanish

Description

From my cookbook, Bread Toast Crumbs

For the Gazpacho:

• 1 English cucumber (about 12 ounces ), thinly sliced
• ½ pound seedless green grapes, halved
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more as needed
• ¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
• 2 slices bread, torn into pieces
• ¼ cup almonds
• ¼ cup fresh dill
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/3 to ½ cup yogurt
• Freshly cracked black pepper to taste

For the Tomato Salsa:

• 1¼ cups cherry tomatoes, quartered
• ½ cup finely diced red onion
• 1 jalapeño, finely minced (about 1 tablespoon ), seeded if sensitive to heat
• Pinch of kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar, plus more as needed

1. Make the gazpacho: In a large bowl, combine the cucumber, grapes, and garlic. Add 1 teaspoon of salt and the vinegar, toss to coat, and set aside to marinate for 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour ⅓ cup water over the bread. Let it sit until it softens, about 10 minutes.
3. In a small skillet over medium heat, toast the almonds, tossing frequently, until fragrant and starting to color, about 5 minutes. Immediately transfer to a plate to cool, about 5 minutes.
4. Add the almonds to a food processor and pulse until finely minced. Add the cucumber mixture, soaked bread, dill, oil, yogurt, and a grinding of black pepper to the processor bowl. Purée until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Chill until ready to serve.
5. Make the salsa: In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño, salt, oil, and vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
6. To serve, ladle the soup into bowls. Spoon a tablespoon of the salsa on each bowl of soup just before serving, passing more on the side.

• Prep Time: 45 minutes
• Category: Soup
• Method: Food Processor
• Cuisine: Spanish

Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2017/07/11/cucumber-green-grape-gazpacho-bread-toast-crumbs-trailer-part-iii-crumbs/

It’s easy to get wrapped up in recipes, to go through the motions as you follow them, to forget to consider what you’re actually doing. I do this all the time.

Over the years, for instance, I couldn’t tell you how many soy dressings, soy dipping sauces, and soy marinades I’ve made, each some combination of ginger, garlic, sugar, mirin, sake, oil, vinegar, and chili paste. Each has been unique in composition, but very similar at heart: a balance of salty and sweet, acid and fat, and often heat.

I’ve loved nearly all of these sauces, and yet I continue to try new recipes in this genre, and I continue to stuff my abounding recipe file with more newspaper and magazine clippings. When will the madness end?

With this recipe. Here, one sauce doubles as both a marinade for the salmon and a dressing for the soba noodles. This combination is a summer favorite.

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Notes:

Recipe halves well. You will likely have leftover dressing. Store it in the fridge.

I buy farmed raised salmon from a local seafood shop called Hooked (Latham, NY). It’s from the Faroe Islands, and from what I can tell online, it seems to be a pretty pristine operation. I know farmed salmon can be atrocious in terms of feed and environmental damage, but I don’t believe this to be the case with this farmed salmon. Wild is probably best if you can get it.

• 1 cedar plank, soaked in cold water for 1 hour or longer
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 3 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 3 tablespoons finely minced ginger
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
• two 5-oz filets wild salmon, see notes above
• 6 ounces dried soba or fresh udon noodles
• 1 English cucumber, thinly sliced, a mandoline or spiralizer is nice here
• 6 scallions, thinly sliced, white and green parts
• 2 tablespoons sesame seeds

1. Fill a medium pot with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Preheat a grill to high. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl or liquid measure, whisk together the soy sauce, rice vinegar, mirin, sesame oil, ginger, sugar, and crushed red pepper flakes. Place the salmon in a small dish or ziplock bag. Pour a quarter cup (or more) of the marinade/dressing over the salmon so it is coated — it doesn’t have to be submerged. Chill for 20 minutes.
2. Cook the noodles according to package instruction (see notes above). Drain, rinse under cold water, then plunge into a bowl of cold water and swish the noodles around with your fingers. Drain.
3. Place salmon on cedar plank, leaving excess marinade behind. Place plank on grill grates. Grill 5 minutes. Remove plank, transfer salmon to a plate, and let rest for 5 minutes.
4. Place drained noodles in a large bowl. Add cucumber, scallions, and sesame seeds. Pour over some of the dressing. Toss gently to coat. Taste. Add more dressing as needed. Adjust taste with a pinch of salt, more crushed red pepper flakes, or more vinegar (or a squeeze of lime, if you have it) to taste.
5. When salmon has cooled, break it into pieces over the noodles, leaving the skin behind if you wish. Toss gently. Serve immediately. (Alternatively, serve the salmon aside the noodles.)

• Prep Time: 25 minutes
• Cook Time: 5 minutes
• Category: Fish
• Method: Grill
• Cuisine: Asian