Lynne has done quite a lot of cooking for our
visitors over the last few weeks and has tried out some new recipes and some
old favourites
Last week, we were served Ottolenghi's Green Gazpacho in McGregor. This week, Lynne found the recipe, made some adjustments and this is what we had as a starter for dinner last night. Lynne halved the recipe for four people, so it does make
a lot. She used a liquidiser. You might need to make this in batches, unless you
have a very large liquidiser. It does sound like a lot of ingredients, but once
you liquidise it, it is made. So easy after assembly. It is based on a Turkish
Tarrator. You
can use other nuts, like walnuts (in the original recipe), or ground almonds if
you don't have blanched fresh. Lynne took the garlic down to 2 cloves (from 4)
as it does show quite prominently. Do add more if you like. It is perfect for
the hot muggy weather we are having at the moment
Green Gazpacho
2 celery sticks (including the leaves)
- 2 small green peppers, deseeded - 1 peeled cucumber (350g in total) - 3
slices stale white bread (120g in total), crusts removed - 1 fresh green chilli
(or less if you don’t want it too hot) - 2 garlic cloves - 1 tsp sugar - 150g
ground or 150g blanched almonds - 200g baby spinach - 1 whole peeled ripe
avocado - 25g basil leaves - 10g parsley - 4 Tbsp sherry vinegar - 1 cup/225ml
olive oil - 40g Greek yoghurt - 450ml iced water - 250g ice cubes - 2 tsp salt
(or more according to your taste) - white pepper
How to Make It
Roughly chop up the celery, peppers, cucumbers,
bread, chilli and garlic. Place in a blender and add the sugar, almonds,
avocado, spinach, basil, parsley, vinegar, oil, yoghurt, most of the water,
half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper.
Blitz the soup until smooth. Add more water, if
needed, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the
seasoning.
Lastly, just before serving, add the remaining ice
and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little. Serve with crusty garlic
bread or crisp croutons.
With thanks to Yottam Ottolenghi
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2017
