|
[1] Chilled strawberry soup with a drizzle of vanilla yogurt. Here’s the five-minute recipe from Carlsbad Cravings.
[2] Pineapple gazpacho. Here’s the recipe from Urban Accents.
[3] Honeydew-cucumber gazpacho with fresh herbs and green chiles. The recipe is in the article (courtesy Rio Luna).
[4] Rio Luna premium canned chiles (courtesy Rio Luna).
|
|
A specialty of Spain and Portugal, gazpacho is a cold raw vegetable peasant soup originating in Andalusia, the southernmost region of Spain. Originally made from old bread, olive oil and garlic, the recipe was in use when the Romans conquered the Iberian Peninsula (218-19 B.C.E.).
Here’s more history of gazpacho.
Over the centuries, gazpacho has evolved in many directions, in terms of regional ingredients and styles. The blender and food processor have enabled versions with silky textures.
More recently, chilled fruit soup has been called “gazpacho.”
Is every chilled soup gazpacho? Of course not (think of vichyssoise).
Many food terms are adapted for marketing purposes. The category to which this recipe belongs has long been called chilled fruit soup. But Pineapple Gazpacho is more relatable and has more pizzazz than Chilled Pineapple Soup, doesn’t it?
A chilled purée of strawberry soup should not be called gazpacho, any more than a chilled purée of pea soup.
But if your fruit soup contains a variety of ingredients, including herbs, like conventional gazpacho (and the recipe below), we’ll allow it.
Yes, we are the Food Police.
RECIPE: HONEYDEW & GREEN CHILE GAZPACHO
Prep time is 20 minutes plus overnight marinating.
For a main lunch dish, add some protein with grilled or boiled shrimp or scallops. Supplement with crusty bread and olive oil, or a half sandwich.
In fact, the next time you’re putting shrimp or other seafood on the barbie, grill some extra for another day’s chilled soup garnish. The seafood not only provides popular flavor; it looks great.
You can also serve fruit gazpacho for dessert, enhanced with a scoop of lemon or lime sorbet.
Ingredients For 4 First Courses (1-1/2 Cups Each) or 2 Lunch Dishes
4 cups honeydew melon chunks (about 1 large melon)
2 seedless cucumbers, unpeeled, cut into chunks
3 sprigs fresh mint
3 sprigs fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar (substitute white wine or sherry vinegar)
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
2 cans (4 ounces each) RIO LUNA Organic Diced Green Chiles, undrained
½ cup toasted almonds
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
Garnishes: diced cucumber and/or melon cubes, herb chiffonade, droplets of basil oil or chile oil
Optional: grilled shrimp or scallops
Preparation
1. PLACE the melon, cucumbers, mint, cilantro, vinegar and salt in large resealable bag. Refrigerate overnight to marinate.
2. REMOVE herb sprigs from bag. Transfer contents of bag to blender. Process until mixture is almost smooth.
3. ADD the chiles and the remaining ingredients. Blend until completely smooth. Serve chilled.
More recipes on the website.
MORE CHILLED FRUIT SOUP RECIPES
Chilled Cantaloupe-Basil Soup
Chilled Mango-Raspberry Soup
Chilled Melon & Lavender Soup
Five Minute Strawberry Coconut Soup, photo #1, a blender soup
Swedish Blueberry Soup
Watermelon Gazpacho
|
CHILE VS. PEPPER: WHICH IS IT?
Wild chiles have been a part of the diet in the Americas since about 7500 B.C.E.
While the first chile may have been domesticated in Bolivia, the oldest known traces of have been found in bowls in Ecuador, dating back 6,100 years.
Chiles were carried to different parts of Latin America, where soil, climate and cross breeding created many different species. Today there are six species of chiles in the genus Capsicum.
But how did we get so many different spellings for the chile? And why are chiles called peppers?
Chilli: The original word in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs, is “chilli,” the spelling that is used in the U.K. and its former colonies.
Chile is the spelling used by the Spanish, the first Europeans to taste them, who adapted the spoken Nahuatl word to their spelling conventions. They first brought chiles to Europe in the mid-1500s.
Chile is used in the U.S. to describe any hot Capsicum.
Bell pepper: The mildest member of the genus became known as bell pepper in the U.S. (because of its shape), but is called capsicum in the U.K.
Chile pepper is a misnomer that has stuck, unfortunately, thanks to Christopher Columbus. Upon first tasting chiles in the Caribbean, he equated them to the only other spicy hot food he knew: black pepper, which had been available in Europe since Roman times.
Black pepper (Piper nigrum) and chiles (Capsicum) are not related in any way. See the details here.
Chili powder, a mixture of ground chiles and other ingredients cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, oregano), is a spelling common among American spice manufacturers.
And by the way:
Chiles are a fruit, not a vegetable. Here’s the difference between fruits and vegetables.
ABOUT RIO LUNA
Rio Luna is a brand of the world’s largest producer of green chiles, the U.S.’s largest producer of jalapeños.
The products are USDA certified organic, certified kosher by OU, and non-GMO. As a bonus, chiles are fat-free, low-calorie and low-cholesterol.
Discover more at RioLunaPeppers.com.
|
