Easy Gazpacho

It's HOT. Like drippy, humid, almost awful HOT. But it's Summer. And because that's so much better than Winter on every level, I'm willing to put up with it. And since salads and cold foods are what we're craving on days like this, I just made a big batch of gazpacho. The recipe is one I've adapted from a Barefoot Contessa recipe that's been around for a while. If you're interested in seeing where Ina and I digress, her original recipe is here.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

·       1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled

·       2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded

·       4 plum tomatoes

·       1 red onion

·       3 garlic cloves, minced

·       23 ounces Spicy V8 juice (3 cups)

·       1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar

·       Juice of ½ lemon

·       Minced cilantro

·       1/4 cup good olive oil

·       Minced cilantro

·       1/2 tablespoon kosher salt and fresh ground pepper

Garnish

·      Sour cream (optional)

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions. Put each vegetable (one at a time!) into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped, then put into large bowl before adding next ingredient. Do not over process!

Stir everything together and then puree about 1/2 of the chopped veggies in the food processor. Add the V8, lemon juice, vinegar and olive oil to the processor and process long enough to blend, then pour it over the rest of the chopped veggies and mix all together. Add minced cilantro and salt and pepper to taste.

Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. Lasts 3-4 days in the fridge.

Note: If you like a very thick, chunky soup, skip the puree step and just stir the juices, vinegar and olive oil into the processed veggies.

Before serving, garnish each bowl with a dollop of sour cream.

Skillet Grilled Fish Tacos with Cilantro Crema Slaw

I saw this recipe yesterday while browsing Food52.com (my all-time favorite food blog). It's from Alexandra Stafford who is the author of the blog Alexandra Cooks and the new cookbook, Bread, Toast, Crumbs. It sounded so Summer Perfect I immediately decided it would be tonight's dinner. I made some changes to the Crema ingredients and it became the dressing for the slaw. I also added the mashed avocado and the cumin on the fish, but otherwise it's all Ali. Grilling the fish this way is totally brilliant and results in moist, flavorful and flaky fish. Fast. With minimal mess. And no fish smell in the kitchen. Really, can you ask for more? 

Update July 19, 2017 - We wanted these for dinner the other night but I didn't have time to make the slaw. Actually that's a total fabrication... I didn't WANT to make the slaw. So I bought regular slaw from the deli counter at my grocery store and asked the guy to drain it as best he could. When I got home, I added some chopped cilantro, a bit of cumin, a dash (or two) of chipotle chili powder, a squeeze of lime and a generous grinding of salt. I then let it sit in the fridge for the 3 hours until dinner (like I said, total fabrication) and, I hate to say it, we liked it BETTER than the slaw below. Go figure. Sometimes easier is just better.

Want to check out the original recipe? Find it here.

Note: The red pepper strips you see in the photo were an impulse add at the last minute. 

Didn't add to the flavor so I didn't include them in the recipe.

Serves 2

Cilantro Lime Crema Slaw

1 heaping cup cilantro, minced fine

Juice of half a lime, plus more to taste

1 7 or 8 oz container (or 1 cup) plain Greek yogurt

1 teaspoon sugar

Cayenne or Siracha to taste

Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste

1 bag of veggie slaw mix (I used organic) - the kind without dressing

1. Mix Crema with as much of the bagged slaw as you think you'll need. We used about 1/2 the bag for 2 of us.
2. Put in fridge until ready to use. I honestly don't see why this wouldn't be fine for a couple of days and will probably be better if left for at least a few hours

Grilled Fish

1 pound of white fish such as cod or haddock (I used haddock).

Cumin and kosher salt

Grapeseed or avocado oil (something that can handle high temps - not olive oil)

6 small corn tortillas

Extras

1 avocado, mashed with a generous squeeze of lime and a solid dose of salt (or however you like it)

1. Set a cast iron skillet on a grill. Close the grill, set it to high, and let it heat up to 550 or 600 degrees F.
2. Meanwhile, if the fillet of fish is long, cut in half so it will fit in your skillet. Season the fish generously with salt on both sides and cumin on top.
3. When the grill is ready,
4. Lift the lid of the grill. Pour a tablespoon or so of grapeseed oil into the hot skillet—enough to coat the bottom in a thin layer. Carefully lower the fish into the skillet (remember, the handle is HOT). If you are slow and controlled, the oil won’t splatter.
5. Close the lid. Check the fish in about 3 minutes by prodding it with a spatula—it should flake fairly easily. If it doesn’t, close the lid and cook for 1 minute more. Remove the fish with a spatula and transfer it to a platter.
6. Turn off the grill. Throw the tortillas on the grill, leaving it open. Check after 20 seconds or so, flip, and cook for another 20 seconds or until tortillas are soft and have nice grill marks on each side. Transfer to a platter.
7. To serve: Spread mashed avocado on tortillas. Break fish into pieces over top. Top with slaw. Squeeze fresh lime over top and serve with more lime on the side, if desired.
8. Devour. Repeat.