Yellow Bell Pepper Gazpacho Recipe For National Gazpacho Day
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Gazpacho is a soup served chilled or at room temperature and is usually associated with summer, when few people desire hot soup. So why is National Gazpacho Day on December 6th?‡ At least National Gazpacho Aficionado Month is in May, when warmer weather makes chilled soup welcome. We’re big fans of gazpacho, so we’d gladly have a bowl year-round. Gazpacho is a low-calorie, high-nutrition dish, a boon for dieters and people who don’t eat enough veggies. And it’s so easy to make—just toss the ingredients in a blender. Gazpacho is one of those recipes that affords maximum customization: Each cook can do his or her thing, and even a favorite recipe can be tweaked each time it’s made. The combination of vegetables, herbs, types of vinegar and flavored olive oil, and garnishes is endless. Our favorite idea for “winter gazpacho” is from Chef Michael O’Boyle of ChickenFriedGourmet.com (photo #1). He serves a yellow bell pepper gazpacho as a shooter, which can be served from trays at a party or as a first course at a seated dinner. The garnish on top of the shooter is a tortilla chip cup filled with salsa. Below: > Gazpacho garnishes to elevate your soup. Elsewhere on The Nibble: > The different types of soup: a photo glossary. > Garnishes for 21 favorite soups. > The year’s 18 soup and stew holidays. This bell pepper-based gazpacho is an ideal recipe for spring, fall, and winter, when tomatoes are not in season. The recipe was adapted from TheLunaCafe, which also has an e-book for the iPad, 12 Days Of Christmas Cookies. Following the recipe, you’ll find gazpacho garnishes that work for any gazpacho recipe. Ingredients *For milder heat, use an ancho, cascabel or poblano chile. The heat levels of different chile peppers. 1. COMBINE the bell peppers, tomatoes, onion, chiles, and garlic in a blender. Cover and liquefy. NOTE: Use disposable gloves when handling hot chiles to avoid accidental irritation from the capsaicin in the seeds and ribs. 2. ADD the stock, orange juice, olive oil, orange zest, vinegar, lemon juice, paprika, salt, and pepper. Cover and liquefy. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. If you want a thinner soup, add more stock. 3. CHILL, covered, for at least 4 hours. Garnish and serve. |
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GAZPACHO GARNISHES Dairy Garnishes Gazpacho is a cold raw vegetable soup that originated in Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. The name is of Arabic origin, and literally means “soaked bread,” an ingredient of early recipes that made use of the prior day’s stale bread. The term has become generic for “cold vegetable soup.” The original recipe came from the Arabs who occupied much of Spain from the 8th through the 13th centuries. Early on, gazpacho was a way for field workers to make lunch from the vegetables at hand. The recipe typically included stale bread, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, onion, tomato, wine vinegar and salt—which remains the Andalusian style. Since the tomato is a New World fruit that was not eaten in Europe until the 1800s*, the earliest gazpacho was made without it. There are many variations of gazpacho, depending on local ingredients and preferences. The familiar red tomato-based gazpacho is just one of many possibilities. American recipes tend to leave out the bread, although some garnish the soup with a garlic crouton. White gazpacho is made with olive oil, sherry vinegar, bread, garlic, and salt, and substitutes green grapes and almonds for the vegetables. ‡Gazpacho in December? Our guess is that whoever requested the establishment of National Gazpacho Day was from a warm Southern state. CHECK OUT WHAT’S HAPPENING ON OUR HOME PAGE, THENIBBLE.COM. |
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