Green Gazpacho Recipe

Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi | Chronicle, 2011

There are a million recipes around for gazpacho, which is by far my favorite cold soup. This one, a green gazpacho recipe, is loosely based on tarator, a cold yogurt and cucumber soup from the Balkans. A proper free-standing blender works best here, but an immersion blender could also be used.–Yotam Ottolenghi

LC Summer Detox Note

Go ahead, have your beer-soaked brats and your burgers on the grill. This recipe makes amends. And in a gloriously light, creamy, green—albeit not an icky green—way.

Hands-On Time: 25 minutes | Total Time: 35 minutes | Serves 6 to 8

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Ingredients

For the croutons
2 thick slices sourdough bread
4 tablespoons olive oil
Salt
For the green gazpacho
2 celery stalks (including the leaves)
2 small green bell peppers, stemmed and seeded
1 1/4 pounds cucumbers, peeled and, if desired, seeded
3 slices stale white bread, crusts removed
1 fresh green chile, such as a jalapeno, seeded (or less if you don’t want it too hot)
4 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon sugar
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
6 cups baby spinach (about 5 ounces)
1 cup basil leaves
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 cup olive oil, plus more for drizzling
3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
About 2 cups water
9 ounces ice cubes
2 teaspoons salt
White pepper to taste

Directions

Make the croutons
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C).
2. Cut the bread into 3/4-inch cubes and toss them on a baking sheet with the oil and a bit of salt. Spread in a single layer and bake until the croutons turn golden and crisp, about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool.
Make the green gazpacho
3. Roughly chop the celery, bell peppers, cucumbers, bread, chile, and garlic. Place these in a large bowl along with the sugar, walnuts, spinach, basil, parsley, vinegar, oil, yogurt, 1 1/2 cups of the water, half the ice cubes, the salt and some white pepper. Working in batches, blitz the soup in a blender until smooth, pouring each batch into a bowl and stirring to combine at the end. If desired, add as much of the remaining 1/2 cup water, a little at a time, to get your preferred consistency. Taste the soup and adjust the ingredients accordingly. If desired, pour a little of the soup back into the blender and add the remaining ice and pulse once or twice, just to crush it a little. Stir this into the rest of the gazpacho.
4. Serve the green gazpacho at once, ladling it into bowls and a few croutons and a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Hungry for more? Chow down on these:

Chilled Cantaloupe Soup from Pinch My Salt
Chilled Avocado Cucumber Soup from In Good Taste
Gazpacho from Leite's Culinaria
Chilled Spring Pea Soup from Leite's Culinaria