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!)

Lentil Salad

I love lentil salad. You got them beans, once again, and can vary things up depending on what's in season. Because you can get away without soaking lentils, you can make this even when you haven't planned ahead. The most recent incarnation of this salad was taken mostly from The Greens Cookbook, by Deborah Madison and Edward Brown.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups small French lentils
1 medium carrot, cut into 1-inch. pieces
1/2 small onion, coarsely chopped
1 bay leaf
1 clove garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
2 med red bell peppers, roasted, skinned, and diced
fresh, chopped mint to your taste
red wine vinegar
8 oz. feta cheese
vinaigrette made from juice of 1 lemon, 8 T. olive oil, and 1 clove of garlic (minced)

Cook the lentils with the carrot, onion, bay leaf, whole garlic, and salt (20-25 min. at a simmer). Drain them when they're done and remove the vegetables and bay leaf. Fold the vinaigrette into the lentils. Let cool then add the peppers, feta, mint, and salt and ground pepper to taste.

Another version of lentil salad I like includes fresh tarragon, chevre, and finely diced carrots and red onion.

Serves 6