OTTOLENGHI'S GREEN GAZPACHO




Last week, I served up some cake for breakfast, so today I thought we could all use a huge bowl of greens for lunch.

This time of year I cannot seem to get enough peaches, nectarines, apricots, pluots - all the yellow, orange, and red juicy deliciousness of summer. I get so caught up trying to stuff myself with fruit while it lasts, that I forget to eat my greens. Bad girl.

My neighbor Caitlin mentioned that she loves Ottolenghi's Green Gazpacho and I thought this might just be the cure to my summer fruit hangover. And it was. I cannot believe how much good green stuff is packed into this chilled soup. We are talking 6 cups of spinach alone! I also really enjoyed the addition of walnuts which gives the gazpacho a little heft and protein - making it a nice summer meal all on its own.

INGREDIENTS - adapted from Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty
(printable recipe)

Croutons:
  • 4 thick slices of sourdough bread (local GF folks, I used a Mariposa baguette)
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • Maldon flaky sea salt

The soup:
  • 2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
  • 2 bell peppers, cores and seeds removed, and roughly chopped
  • 6 small cucumbers, roughly chopped
  • 3 slices Millet Bread, toasted (or Ottolenghi calls for stale white bread), crusts removed and chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 fresh green chili, minced
  • 2 teaspoons honey
  • 1 1/2 cups walnuts, toasted
  • 6 cups baby spinach
  • 1 cup basil leaves
  • 4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • 1 cup olive oil
  • 3 tablespoons Greek yogurt
  • 2-3 cups water
  • season generously with salt and freshly ground white pepper
  • olive oil for garnish


Preheat oven to 375.

To make the croutons, tear crusty bread into rough bite-sized chunks and scatter them onto a baking sheet. Drizzle olive oil over the bread and sprinkle with salt. Give everything a toss with your hands to coat the bread. Place the baking sheet in the hot oven. Toast for 10 minutes or so until you have nice golden croutons. Set aside for garnish.

Prep all soup ingredients. Get out your blender and set aside a very large bowl to hold your pureed soup. In a blender, puree a mix of ingredients in batches adding more water if you need to, then pour the puree into the large bowl you've set aside. When you've finished all of the pureeing (it took me 4 batches!) give everything a good stir. Season with additional salt and ground white pepper, and chill soup before serving.

Serve gazpacho in wide low bowls. Pass the croutons, and give each bowl a drizzle of olive oil over the top.

This recipe really serves a crowd - I found it made about 16 cups. (I'm thinking I may just have a bowl of leftover gazpacho for breakfast tomorrow!)


68 comments:

  1. This sounds wonderful. I'll give it a try over the weekend. In place of the cucumbers, could I use zucchini? Or perhaps add the zucchini along w/ the other ingredients? Needless to say, my garden is bountiful w/ zucchini this time of year.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Suzanne, I'm jealous of your zucchini bounty! My backyard has so much shade that my zuks don't thrive. Hmmm, not sure about adding the raw zucchini to the gazpacho. But I do have a couple other zucchini ideas for you...

      http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-harvest-soup.html

      http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2011/03/zucchini-ribbon-pasta.html

      xo
      E

      Delete
  2. So healthy and tasty! That gazpacho is really original. Love that first picture...

    Cheers,

    Rosa

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Rosa! I am such a fan of traditional gazpacho too. But this recipe really is a good one - no surprise with Ottolenghi!
      xxoo
      E

      Delete
  3. Erin, this soup looks gorgeous! And, I'm a big fan of Ottolenghi. I look forward to making it. xo

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey Laura, I think you'd really like it. All those good greens. Yay!
      Enjoy your time in Phillie.
      xo
      E

      Delete
  4. Tasty way to get your greens. :) Pinning this so I remember to make it!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christina,
      I'm going to go have another bowl right now!
      xo
      E

      Delete
  5. Look at that gorgeous, vibrant green color! I adore the Ottolenghi cookbook and now you've served up some new inspiration for me to cook from it! Thank you so much for the sweet words on our news. Hope we can catch up sometime in person! x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Kasey, I'm so excited for you guys. I can see you now with the baby in the sling while you guys cook up and storm and listen to good music. For me, life has gotten so much sweeter with kids.
    xxoo
    E

    ReplyDelete
  7. What a refreshing look the soup has! All the images also speak for themselves. Great post, Erin:) Emi

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Emi, I think you'd really like the soup. I bet you could use all sorts of great things from your beautiful garden.
      xo
      E

      Delete
  8. Oh my gosh this soup looks absolutely beautiful! Ottolenghi's recipes never fail so I can't wait to try this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Christine, there is such an Ottolenghi craze amongst my buddies around here. His flavors are always just right, aren't they?
      xo
      E

      Delete
  9. Ok, you talked me into it. I have really been liking that cookbook but haven't tried this recipe. Thanks to your heads-up I may halve the quantities when I do, which will be soon!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emmy, I think halving the quantities is a great idea. The recipe makes SO much. Enjoy!

      Delete
  10. Erin - so loving this soup! What a refreshing take on the traditional gazpacho. I need to make this for my next dinner party. Hope you are staying cool during this mini hot spell in the Bay Area.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there Lisa, I bet you'd really like this recipe. And it is perfect for a hot day. Though here in Berkeley we barely get the hot spells;)
      Have a great weekend,
      xo E

      Delete
  11. Erin - Any thoughts on how this would be with chard instead of spinach? We are overflowing with chard in our garden.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hmmm... good question, Andrea. I guess it would depend on how tender your chard is. It might be too much for your body to digest all the raw chard. But you could try my galette recipe and substitute chard there - I think that would be so yummy and you'd use quite a bit of your garden greens..
      http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2012/03/spinach-galette-with-wild-mushrooms.html
      Lucky you to have all that chard. One of my favorite greens!

      Delete
  12. Perfect. I just picked a green pepper and some cucumbers from the garden and wondering what to do. I can already feel healthier.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Angela, lucky you to have the ingredients right there in your garden:)!

      Delete
  13. Erin,

    What a beautiful picture, so smooth and creamy and vibrant looking. What a delicious way to start cleansing your body. this sounds fabulous. I'm going to have to look up this Ottolenghi person up...whoa! Just did...busy person. Incredible food. Could this this recipe be paired down (for 2 for example) without losing it's personality?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oli, I'm glad you checked out Ottolenghi. He's quite amazing and I know so many people who adore his food.
      I do think the recipe could easily be cut in half or even quartered. Though, I made the whole batch and am enjoying the leftovers as well;) Ahhhhh...
      xxoo
      E

      Delete
  14. Mmm.... sounds deliciously fresh and I love your photos.

    ReplyDelete
  15. Oooh yummy! This looks so delicious. I haven't tried green gazpacho...time to get the blender out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Get ready to blend and blend! I'm eating the leftovers and loving it.
      xo

      Delete
  16. I have yet to try a green gazpacho. Like you, I'm more about the fruits than the veggies during the summer but sometimes you just crave the greens!

    Thank you for the congratulations and entering my little giveaway. I'm so excited for this new adventure and what fun new challenges home owning will bring... the good and the bad. Lately it's been all about cooking but I might have to throw in some home decor projects for the blog... switch things up. :)

    Talk soon!
    Christina

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's so interesting, Christina. I was wondering if I was the only fruit-crazed eater in the summer. The rest of the year it's all about veg for me, but summer is fruit season at my house.
      Enjoy your new digs,
      xo

      Delete
  17. I've been turning dishes that are naturally other colors into vibrant shades of green lately, so this looks right up my alley - I just polished off the leftovers from some cilantro/garlic scape/green chile grits tonight. Mmhmm!

    Sadly I'm just starting a new crop of spinach, so I don't have any of those little buggers on hand right now. But there are plenty of other green leafies back there that would substitute, like beet greens, perhaps.

    What do you find grows best in your shady zuk-proof backyard? Just curious:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Emma, oh your leftovers sound awesome. That is some green goodness.

      Yes, a Berkeley backyard is a funny place. I grow a ton of greens all year round - lettuces of all sorts, arugula, chard, kale, mustard. Also gobs of herbs from lemon verbena to chervil, cilantro, parsley. And my little fruit trees: figs, clementines, meyers, kumquats, (and newly planted pear, apple, and apricot.) We've also had luck with broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, + beets. And we had a kickin' crop of favas this year. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, but that gives you a sense of what we can grow here. Ah yes, lots of wonderful strawberries in the sunny spots.

      As you can tell, I love our little garden.
      xxoo

      Delete
  18. A gorgeous recipe from one of my favourite books. That colour is so lovely - I'd for sure eat this for breakfast too :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Renee, it is great cookbook, isn't it. There are so many recipes I want to try!
      Just had yet another bowl of gazpacho for breakfast this morning. Yum!
      xo

      Delete
  19. I love the refreshing cool color for summer. Can't wait to try this. I love cucumbers this time of the year. =)
    Anyhoo, we have been keeping an eye out for unique and interesting bloggers with phenomenal photography skills, and yours caught our attention! We have just recently launched a food photo submission gallery http://www.yumgoggle.com/gallery/ that allows you to showcase all your great work and share it with all of our visitors. We’d be proud to have your work as part of our growing collection to continue to have a larger reach and further inspire all fellow food lovers out there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hey there thanks! I'll check out what you guys are up to.

      Delete
  20. This looks heavenly! I love gazpacho and often take it into work for lunch - now I have an alternative recipe I can mix it up a bit!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thelittleloaf,This would be great for a work lunch - totally satisfying and fresh!
      xxoo

      Delete
  21. This does sound wonderful, and is SO green! I've been addicted to fruit recently too, I just can't get enough! I love the walnuts in the soup too, and the green chili! So many flavors!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jane, it feels great to get a real dose of green in the midst of the summer fruit fest! Isn't it an interesting flavor combo?
      xxoo

      Delete
  22. WOW! This looks absolutely beautiful (and delicious). Hoping to try this out sometime this week!

    ReplyDelete
  23. goodness gracious, gorgeous greens!
    xo
    http://allykayler.blogspot.ca/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Ally... I join in cheering for greens!

      Delete
  24. Delicious, healthy and pretty :) Nice combination.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And I did have a bowl for breakfast;)

      Delete
  25. I'll be trying this recipe for sure!
    I love its gorgeous green color and how healthy it sounds.
    :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. M, I think you'd really dig the recipe. I'm loving all the leftovers.
      Hope you're well.
      xxoo
      E

      Delete
  26. Oh Erin, this soup looks divine! I especially love that first photo. It makes me want to dive right in!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wish I could share a bowl with you Jennifer!

      Delete
  27. Absolutely gorgeous and sounds delicious! I would love to buy "Plenty" - seems like a dream cookbook!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mistress of Spices, Plenty is definitely worth buying - there are endless tempting recipes!

      Delete
  28. I made this last night and I just have to say thank you!!! In the 100 degree plus weather LA has been having this was absolutely perfect. I 1/2 the recipe and it worked out well for us, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Mary Jo - over 100? That is broiling for LA. No wonder you needed a cold soup for dinner.
      I'm glad to hear that halving the recipe worked for you. Thanks so much for letting me know.

      Delete
  29. This sounds and looks so beautiful! I love the deep green color against the croutons!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have so enjoyed the texture combo of the smooth cold soup and the crunchy warm croutons. I actually re-toast the croutons just before plopping them on the soup. They sizzle as they hit the cool liquid. Yum!

      Delete
  30. I was on such a Ottolenghi-kick a few weeks back, but this recipe is totally new for me. Thanks for showing your gorgeous version: love that bright green color and sound of the smooth&crunch contrast!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Denise! An Ottolenghi kick is a good one to be on;)
      Have a great weekend,
      E

      Delete
  31. I've never seen prettier gazpacho, and it's green to boot! Gorgeous photo, Erin. I'd love to savor a bowlful for dinner tonight.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Kathryne... I wish I could easily send a bowl your way. I think you'd love the healthy, flavorful punch of it all.
      xxoo
      E

      Delete
  32. Light, beautiful, healthy, refreshing. Enough reasons to try it!

    ReplyDelete
  33. What a great summer soup! I love the color. The walnuts sound great in this. I've been missing greens all summer too!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lisa, I'm glad to hear that I am not the only one who gets completely fruit crazed in the summer and forgets her veg! And I think you'd really like the soup. The walnuts are a nice hearty addition.
      xo

      Delete
  34. This has quickly become one of my favorite recipes. I made a few changes in mine: lemon instead of vinegar, local goat milk yogurt with a bit more tang, added some fresh sage and avocado, less oil, 1/2 raw almonds and 1/2 raw walnuts to make it more alkalinizing. I left out the salt and pepper altogether 'cause the fresh taste is fantastic, and the croutons and some feta cheese made up for the salt. I made rice bread croutons which turned out chewy and substantial, very satisfying. I made this for guests and one friend was downright euphoric. Thank you so much for this!!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Holland, all of your adjustments sound wonderful and are making me so hungry! I'm a huge fan of goat and sheep yogurt too.
      Happy eating!
      -E

      Delete
  35. So I am sitting at home with this cookbook (Plenty) and your picture of this green gazpacho is 100x better than the picture in the book. Seriously. Most of the photos in the book are beautiful but somehow they messed up this one. The picture in the book does not make me want this soup but yours does Erin. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jenn, you are too kind to me:) xxxooo E

      Delete

So good to hear from you... I appreciate each and every note you leave for me!

Thanks,
E