Saturday, October 3, 2009

So long sweet summer...



I'm sure that everyone else thought that summer ended a long time ago, but our classes at the U of O just started on Tuesday. So, we bid a fond farewell to a wicked-awesome summer by making a Spanish dinner starring pretty much the best summer food ever: Gazpacho. Gazpacho is a tomato-based soup that you eat cold; kind of like V8, but much better. We made it from a family recipe that our friend Pilar gave us when we stayed with her this summer in Barcelona. I know that this isn't a cooking blog, but gazpacho is so good (and healthy) that I would recommend it to everybody, so here's the recipe; first in Catalan (because it just sounds and looks cool), and then in English with some additional notes.
Gazpacho
250 Grs. cogombres
100 Grs. pebrots verds
1 KG tomaquets
una ceba
2 Grans d'all
una tassa d'oli
1/2 tassa vinagre
una pastilla avecrem
1 litre i 1/2 d'aigua
sal

es passa tot pel pimer i es serveix amb davets de tomaquet, pebrot, ceba, pa fregit, etc.

Gazpacho
250 grams cucumber
100 grams green peppers
1 kilogram tomatoes
one onion
two cloves of garlic
one cup of olive oil
half cup of vinegar
one bouillon cube
1 and 1/2 liters of water
salt to taste

Chop everything up in a food processor (chop it very finely, but don't puree it), and serve chilled with garnishes of diced onions, peppers, tomatoes and croutons.
Here's some additional things that I learned when I made it:
-Don't worry too much about the metric measurements, you don't have to be very precise, just make sure the ratios of vegetables are similar to the recipe.
-I don't know if metric cups are a different size, but I think I put in way too much oil. You could probably put in a half cup of oil and it would be perfect. I would also add a little more vinegar than what it calls for.
-After making this recipe (it makes a ton and freezes well), you should allow the flavors to blend at least overnight.
I know it's not the ideal time for a refreshing, cold soup, but you'll have to let me know if you try out the gazpacho.


P.S. when you're just not feeling that good, there's nothing better than curling up with a good book and your snake.

4 comments:

Kourtney said...

Totally agreed. What a sweetheart. How was Barcelona? The recipe sounds great.

Aynna banahna said...

I can't wait until Jonah actually seems interested in his books

Becky Henson said...

Only tried the cold soup thing once, but it might be time to try again. Convincing Aaron to try it will be the difficult part. Love the photo of Rocky - she is so adorable! Seriously, her bright, blue eyes are amazing! OH, and I definitely agree about the clothing sizes in months - bad idea!

becky rigby said...

You know Brando, I think we just might try it. We seem to love everything else you guys make. (we're having quesadillas tonight) I cannot wait to see you! I only wish you had packed Mars and Rocks in your suitcase. =)