Soup is not just for cold winter nights. Keep the kitchen cool and enjoy these no-cook refreshing soup recipes during the hot days of summer. The following recipe is from The Santa Monica Farmers’ Market Cookbook by Amelia Saltsman (Blenheim Press), coming out next spring. Saltsman is a food writer, host and producer of Fresh From the Farmers’ Market, the SMFM cooking show airing Wednesdays at 1pm on CityTV 16. She frequently contributes recipes to Laura Avery’s Market Report segment on KCRW’s “Good Food.”
Green Zebra Gazpacho
Use tomatoes that remain green when ripe, such as Green Zebra or Evergreen, for this ultra-refreshing gazpacho.
– 2 pounds ripe Green Zebra or
Evergreen tomatoes
– 1 small white onion, coarsely chopped
– 1 cup seedless green grapes
– 2 Persian cucumbers (about 10
ounces), peeled, seeded and cut in
chunks
– 2 cups stale French bread, crusts
removed and torn into chunks
– Juice of 2 limes
– 1/2 to 1 small jalapeno pepper, cut in
small pieces
– Leaves from 8 to 10 sprigs cilantro
– Leaves from 8 to 10 sprigs mint
– 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
– 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt, or to
taste
– 1 1/2 cups water
– 1 avocado, such as Lamb Hass, diced
into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces
– Fresh snipped chives
Peel and seed tomatoes by dropping whole tomatoes into pot of boiling water for 30 seconds. Core and cut tomatoes in half crosswise and squeeze them over a strainer set over a large bowl to remove seeds. Reserve the juices that collect in the bowl. Coarsely chop tomatoes and add them to the bowl. Stir in onion, grapes, bread, juice of one lime, 1/2 jalapeno, cilantro, mint, oil, salt and water.
Use a blender to puree the soup in batches, leaving it a little chunky for texture, and chill at least two hours. Taste and adjust seasonings; if it’s not zesty enough, grind remaining 1/2 chile with a little of the soup and stir this back into the soup. Garnish each serving with avocado, chives and an extra sprinkling of salt. Makes two quarts, about eight servings.
