Of course now that I wrote that post about keeping cool it's downright chilly here.
Do you think that if in January I write about keeping warm we'll get a thaw? Worth a try.
When the subject got onto food, I wanted to share with you a delicious soup.
I need about a vat of this when the weather is hot: Gazpacho with corn! (Funnily enough, one of the later comments on the keeping cool post was a request for a warm-weather soup. I was already working on this!)
You know I can't take things hot, and by that I mean that when I go to an Indian restaurant I find the bread too spicy.
So no one expects any kick from my dishes. It's strictly add-your-own-Tabasco around here.
But that doesn't mean it's not yummy.
Don't stress out that there's no real recipe: honestly, if you have the basic ingredients it doesn't really matter about getting the exact proportions. That's the beauty of soup!
Gazpacho (to my taste, not necessarily authentic, portion note in the recipe)
First, make some corn on the cob for dinner one night (if you were to roast the corn…mmmm…), and then another day scrape the leftover corn off and set it aside.
Now chop up (in the food processor if you want):
Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Peppers (red and green and yellow if you like)
Red onion
Garlic
…and mix them together.
(For five of us (with leftovers) I used a basket of grape tomatoes, one medium cucumber, one each of green and red peppers, and about 1/4 of a red onion.)
Pour over all some (about 2 cups for 5+ servings) organic tomato juice or vegetable juice (the non-organic kinds have MSG, masked and hidden, in them…and I'm hoping I can rely on my scrutiny of the back of this container). The vegetable juice has a nice celery note that adds depth to this dish.
If you are using big juicy tomatoes, you will likely not need a lot of added juice, and of course you can just use canned tomato puree if you'd rather — I think it would be cheaper and you'd have more control over the ingredients — and water. Pour enough over to make it soupy.
Add that delicious corn (I think I had about 2 ears), a couple of tablespoons to 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, the juice of a lemon or lime, about a teaspoon each of cumin and coriander, and about 1 tablespoon of cilantro (did you know that you can freeze washed cilantro and break off what you need? It does not keep long in the fridge, alas). Salt, pepper.
Serve with quesadillas, cold chicken sandwiches, or guacamole and tortilla chips.
{Bridget would like to apologize to any children. This is the kind of thing she detests.
Suzanne would like to point out that corn makes anything taste better (which observation inspired me to add it), and also register hatred for cilantro. I think if I didn't tell her about it I would get away with it. Since she wasn't here for this marvelous dish, the point is moot.}
Amy E says
this looks good and as soon as it is warmer then 68 I will try it. I can my own vegetable juice and have an insane amount left over from last year. It has tomato, celery, onion, carrot and beet and is this bizarre but interesting color of red. My daughter also doesn't like the sharpness of cilantro so I have been successful with adding italian parley instead.
Robin says
This looks fabulous!Wait…you can freeze cilantro??? Does it still taste the same???? When I decide to cook with cilantro, I have to buy a bunch and plan for the Week of Cilantro Recipes, so I can use it all up before it goes bad. You may have just changed my life.And (sorry to sound 10 years old) what are the dark chunks in there? They look like black beans…which would be really good and add protein.I'll bet this would be good with any leftover corn muffins….or my favorite leftover dish: chicken quesadillas. Slice leftover grilled chicken, and throw into your quesadillas as you make them. Yum.
Leila says
Hi Robin, yes, you really can freeze cilantro! It tastes the same but looks a bit darker…to answer your other question ;)So those dark "chunks," while merely pieces of cilantro, could very well be black beans — that would be awesome. Corn, black beans…excellent.
Pippajo says
Oh me, oh my, that looks good! Unfortunately, while I love gazpacho, the rest of my family hates it!But, I have to echo the above comment and exclaim, "You can freeze cilantro?!" I love it so much but hate how I have to buy what seems to be tons of it and it always goes bad and leaves me feeling guilty.Life changing, indeed!Maybe I'll make gazpacho after the Silver Queen corn comes in (July) and keep it just for my lunches and snacks.
Leila says
One thing I should mention about getting kids to eat this, and maybe it's just me and it certainly doesn't work with Bridget — cut the pieces of veggies small. "Finely chopped" would be my description, hence the food processor. You want to be able to bite them but not really sense the texture too much, in my opinion.
Betsy says
Oh this looks so good! I make a hot soup that is very simiar (mine does have black beans and zuchini in it and minus the cucumber). If anyone likes cilanto it is prolific in the garden. As long as we keep ours picked it produces all summer, then let it go to seed and you will have a bunch of plants come next year. I am now going to be freezing it! Oh, but Suzanne is in good company with the cilantro dislike. I remember watching Julia Child as a kid and when asked what her least favorite food or flavor was she responded cilantro.
the momma says
I've been freezing cilantro for years ~ it works fabulously! I do the same with jalapenos, except we do chop them first. I'm with Suzanne ~ I'm not a huge fan of cilantro; I think it tastes like soap, but salsa needs just a pinch of it anyways, so it's great to always have some when we need it.The soup looks delicious ~ in our family, we have a joke that adding corn to anything makes it 'gourmet'thanks!
Anonymous says
Two awesome summer recipes:Paula Deen's Black Bean Salsaand White Gazpacho (cucumbers,grapes,avocado, sour cream, garlic….)I need to go dig up recipes.
elizabethe says
I have to say I'm with Bridget here (I'm not even sure who Bridget is, as I'm a newish reader, but tell her she has a ally).If I liked that kind of thing, I'm sure it would be yummy.I forgive you for this, though. You won my never ending love with the eggplant obsession series.
Kathleen says
Leila, Thanks for the cold soup recipe! What a quick answer. Oh, thanks for the tip anonymous. I have some Paula Deen cookbooks, I'll look in those for ideas, too. And RecipeZaar, too, I can always try.
Breanna says
Would it help if, instead of a soup, the gazpacho-haters had it made thicker and served with tortilla chips and thought of it as "dip"? ;)Looks divine to me, albeit the sweet peppers would make it expensive here (we pay two bucks a red pepper, three in the winter). It would make a nice company dish for my inlaws, though. (I think they secretly find my meals too hearty.)Breanna
Suki says
Cilantro is the worst. I'm glad that you're eating it with me not around–that means that there is altogether less cilantro in the world.But other than that, it looks awesome! Actually, I have eaten it in the past, so I know it's awesome. And corn really does improve everything (I thought recently of a dish I thought would be harmed by corn…after a year of brainstorming…but then I forgot it again)!
Kari says
leftover roasted corn on the cob??? How is that possible?Kari
Sally says
I never understood why people think cilantro tastes like soap until one day, out in a beautiful meadow, after a soft rain, I smelled some growing thing, something really fresh and pungent. Just like an Irish Spring commercial, I mean it. I dug through the long grass and found, of course — cilantro, growing wild! It was so wonderful. But now I know why it tastes like soap. 🙂 I love it anyway. So when you freeze cilantro, it doesn't turn mushy?? I love it fresh in a salad, but wouldn't want it slimy.Just recently subscribed to your blog, and I am really enjoying it. Thanks for blessing me. 😀
Leila says
Kari, you are so funny. You just have to make 3 times as much as anyone could possibly eat, easy.Sally, yes, it's a little mushy — wouldn't work for a salad, but does work for a curry, enchiladas, etc…
Christina A says
Cilantro also keeps longer in the fridge if you put the cut ends in water and “tent” it with your plastic bag. I learned that from a homeschooling mama I cleaned for in college. Usually, I’m too lazy to do it when I get home from the store, and I just throw it in my produce drawer. 🙂