White Gazpacho. Cold soup is not something I had ever entertained eating until I went to work at the Manor. Soup for me was always a Winter thing. I just could not imagine eating soup in the summer, let alone cold soup.
It was a popular starter however, for the ladies luncheons and simple dinner parties during the summer months when I worked at the Manor. Never a white one however, mostly just the red one.
I obviously had to taste it (she didn't like her staff eating her food) to make sure it was okay and I thought it quite delicious. Kind of like a liquified salad. (I know a really generalized interpretation!)
It was not something I ever made at home however. I always thought it a lot of work, a lot of ingredients and more than a bit pretentious . . . until now.
I've slowly been building up my cookery book collection again since the big move. This is one I bought on a whim. Smitten Kitchen Every Day, by Deb Perelman. I have always been a fan of Smitten Kitchen.
I was not disappointed. It is filled with lovely recipes, most of them quite un-pretentious, approachable and simple to execute. I highly recommend.
One of the recipes I immediately flagged in it was the White Gazpacho, although she does call it Cucumber Yogurt Gazpacho with Mint, Almonds and Grapes. The name alone was quite a mouthful, so I have shortened it to what it is. Simply, White Gazpacho.
I was greatly intrigued by the recipe. First of all it used only a few ingredients. Unless it is a really special occasion, I don't like using recipes that have an ingredients list a mile long. Short and sweet usually serves me quite well.
Secondly, most of the ingredients were really simple and easy to find. All except for the mint that is, but more about that later.
I am not a huge fan of recipes that use unusual or hard to find ingredients. Ingredients that are expensive and that you know in all likelihood you are never going to use again. Food is too expensive to waste my money that way.
Finally, the photograph of the soup in the book looked delicious. It was a hot day. I wanted something to eat that was refreshing. This fit the bill.
The main ingredient was English cucumbers. I am a huge fan of English cucumbers. I use them all year round. Never bitter, largely seedless, they are something I always have in my refrigerator. And most of the time, depending on what you are using them for, you never have to peel them.
Buttermilk. Buttermilk is something I also almost always have in my refrigerator as well. Great for baking with and now, great for soup!
I also almost always have shallots in my cupboard, stored with my onions and garlic. Shallots are from the onion family. Not quite as harsh in flavor, they are much sweeter and milder, which lends them beautifully for use in dishes like this where they are going to be used raw.
As I said, the mint was a problem. I could not find mint anywhere at all when I went looking for it. In the UK, mint was something which I had to restrain in my garden. I was used to having lots of it to use in cooking.
Not so much here. I haven't yet seen it. So I did the next best thing. I used Mint Jelly, and I have to say it worked surprisingly really well. Really, REALLY well. Trust me on this.
The lack of fresh mint is also why I garnished with fresh flat leaf parsley. Ms Perleman used mint leaves. No mint leaves here.
I also left off the sliced raw green chilis. I am not a huge fan of those, whilst I do enjoy them cooked. I think they were more for color as a garnish than anything else.
Greek yogurt. Something else I always have in the house. I enjoy it with my granola in the morning. I have always used Total Greek yogurt, but it is something else which I have not seen here in the Valley.
Today I used PC Greek Yogurt. 2% fat. You use what you have to use. Its as simple as that. (She does say if you can't find buttermilk, you can use more yogurt in it's place, in the same quantity. 1/2 cup or 125g)
I confess up front, I reduced the recipe to make only one serving. Successfully. I didn't want to be eating cold soup for days, although this soup is so delicious that probably wouldn't be much of a hardship.
Oh yes, make sure you use a good quality extra virgin olive oil, or at least the best one you can afford to buy. I use Bertolli. It really does make a difference in taste to use a better quality oil if you can.
Toasted almonds. What a pretty garnish they made, along with the thinly sliced green grapes. I love almonds anyways, and these added a nice touch.
Generally speaking, White Gazpacho uses a base of blanched almonds and garlic, which are mashed to a paste, and also white bread. This soup uses none of those, which also makes it beautifully gluten free. A plus for those who are gluten intolerant.
Whilst this soup does contain many of the elements of the traditional white gazpacho, it uses them in quite a different way, which I really liked.
I thought the garnish of the sliced green grapes was really pretty. And I loved the use of white wine vinegar rather than sherry vinegar. It helped to keep the soup white in my opinion.
All in all, this was a really delicious soup and I found myself wishing I had made more than just one serving of it. It was the perfect way to begin the first day of summer however!
I really hope you will give it a go, and if you are wanting to reduce the quantities, just message me and I will let you know what my measurements were!
I think this is a lovely cold soup that anyone would enjoy. Quick to make, easy to make, unpretentious and most delicious!
White Gazpacho
Yield: 4
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 5 Mininactive time: 2 HourTotal time: 2 H & 10 M
This delicious cold soup makes the perfect light lunch for when the outdoor temperatures begin to rise and you don't want to heat up your kitchen. Makes an excellent first course for a luncheon as well. It is surprisingly refreshing and very tasty!
Ingredients
- 2 large English Cucumbers, washed, quartered lengthwise and cut into chunks
- 1 cup (245g) low fat Greek yogurt
- 1/2 cup (120ml) cold buttermilk
- 2 TBS (30ml) good white wine vinegar
- 1 small shallot, peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup (60ml) good extra virgin olive oil, plus more to drizzle
- 1 TBS mint jelly
- fine sea salt to taste (about 1/2 TBS)
- 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (or to taste)
To finish:
- 1/4 cup (4 TBS) flaked almonds, lightly toasted
- a handful of green grapes, thinly sliced
- good extra virgin olive oil to drizzle
- chopped fresh flat leaf parsley to garnish
Instructions
- Place all of your soup ingredients into a large blender. Blitz together until smooth. Taste and adjust seasoning as required. Pour into a container, tightly cover and chill for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.
- When ready to serve, give another quick blitz to combine and divide between four chilled soup bowls. (If you wish you can put it through a wire mesh strainer, but its not really necessary.)
- Garnish each bowl with some flaked almonds, sliced grapes, a drizzle of olive oil and some chopped flat leaf parsley.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Just popping in to announce the winner of my recent Giveaway. A week ago, to help celebrate the revamping of my blog and as a bit of a thank you to all of my readers for having stuck with me over these past six difficult months, I decided to host a giveaway!
Included in the Giveaway was my favorite all time cookbook, The Fanny Farmer Cookbook. One of my hand crocheted dish clothes and a hand embroidered tea towel, again my handiwork.
As a second prize I was offering someone the opportunity to receive all of my little cook-booklets.
I truly wish that I could give each one of you something, but alas, my pockets are not that deep. I want you all to know that you are winners to me, and I very much appreciate your visits, comments, etc. There is nothing more exciting to me than having someone make one of my recipes and then taking the time to report back and share their experience with all of us. It really does make my day.
I am not a tech savant and so I used a random numbers generator to pick numbers from the comments which were left here at the blog. Without further adieu, here are the winners:
For the cookbook, dish cloth and tea towel . . .
Congratulations to Laurie Powers! I think Laurie has been visiting my page now for a very long time. If I am not mistaken we know each other from way back in our Recipe Zaar days, but I could be wrong!
Laurie, if you could please e-mail me or message me with your mailing details, I will pop that gift into the mail to you post haste! Congratulations!
And now for the winner of the cook-booklets!
I have eleven cook-booklets which retail at a cost of 5 pounds sterling each or the equivalent of $6.96 USD. That makes this a very nice prize also.
Congratulations Linda! (The Linda who made this comment below.) You are the lucky winner.
If you could please send me your email address I will e-mail you the booklets. It will take a while because I need to send each one individually.
Congratulations to you both. Thank you so much to everyone who participated. Its been great fun. You never know, I may hold another giveaway soon. Stay tuned!
Thank you so much to everyone!
I guarantee you are going to fall in love with this delicious Grilled Steak Sandwich recipe I am sharing with you here today. Not only is it fabulously easy to make but it is incredibly tasty as well!
This pub style steak sandwich is an open faced sandwich that even a lady can feel comfortable eating. Light enough to please a delicate palate, but hearty enough to please a man, especially if you add some chips (fries) on the side!
It uses very simple ordinary ingredients. Rump/eye of round steaks. These steaks are perfect for flash frying, and so long as you don't overcook them, come out perfectly every time.
Mind you any steak overcooked is most unpalatable in my opinion. I mostly like my steaks medium rare, which means they are lovely and pink in the center, but not bloodied.
Medium rare often means different things in different countries. We were in the South of France once and went to a Buffalo Grill restaurant to have steaks one night. We requested medium rare, and the steaks practically crawled onto our plates. They were literally what I would have called a blue steak.
I never send food back if it is not to my liking. Having worked in restaurant kitchens, and some pretty fancy ones, I don't trust them not to spit in your soup if you send it back. Sad but true.
I am not saying it happens in all restaurants, but it does happen in a few. And I am not willing to take the chance. So I just grit my teeth and bear whatever I am handed.
Like I said, fairly simple ingredients. Some good rump/eye of round steak, a good rustic bread, mayonnaise, horseradish, Montreal steak spice, some good mushrooms, gouda cheese and baby argula/rocket.
That's it. Simple. With the exception of the cheese and the mushrooms these are things I almost always have in my house.
My sandwich was inspired by a recipe I found in Donna Hay, the new classics for a "New Steak Sandwich." It looked really tasty, however it was a bit new fangled for me.
i.e.. it used ingredients that are not common to most kitchens, and that might even be difficult to come by. Porcini powder for one. That's not something most people will have around, unless they are a true gourmand, and I like to think that my recipes are quite accessible for most people.
Taleggio cheese and watercress are two other ingredients that a lot of people might find difficult to come by.
I decided to use Gouda which is a proper melting cheese and baby arugula/rocket, which is nice and peppery, just like watercress, but much easier to find.
The bread I used for this is a rustic sour dough boule which I love, that can be found in my local grocery store. 20 years ago this type of thing was never seen here. I am so happy times have changed.
We are a much better traveled people these days (pre-Covid) and have acquired tastes for nice breads and the like. Our local shop sells several varieties of well baked artisanal breads.
Its important that you use a rustic sturdy type of white bread. Wonder bread won't cut it here. You want something sturdy enough to stand up to the toppings.
I brushed the bread with some olive oil and toasted it, rubbing the olive oil side with some raw garlic after toasting. This imparted a lovely mild garlic flavor to the bread.
The steak I used was eye of round. Rump steaks will also work well. You want the kind of steak that doesn't need braising to make it tender. The steak in these sandwiches is meant to be flash fried.
You want steaks about 1/2 inch thick, but don't worry, you will be cutting them in half again to 1/4 inch thickness. If your steak is really cold, or even semi frozen, this is much easier to do.
She dusted hers with a rosemary porcini powder. I used Montreal Steak Spice. For several reasons.
One, I like the flavor of Montreal Steak Spice, especially on steak. Two, it usually helps to tenderize the steaks a bit. Three, who the heck just happens to have rosemary porcini powder in the cupboard.
I love its flavor of Montreal Steak Spice. It is a bit spicy with lots of pepper, has onion and garlic flakes, some fennel seed, etc. I think it just goes very well with beef, especially in a sandwich like this.
I used brown chestnut mushrooms, larger ones, which I trimmed and cut in half through the middles. You could use baby portabella, but chestnuts are cheaper and they have a lovely meaty flavor that I enjoy.
Taleggio cheese is not something which is found in our local shops. Maybe in Halifax, but not here in the Valley where I live.
Taleggio is a nice melty cheese and so I thought that gouda (which I could get) would be just as tasty. I was right. It was and melted beautifully.
The bread itself is spread with a horseradish mayonnaise. This is very easy to make. You simply stir together some real egg mayonnaise (I like Hellman's) and some creamed horseradish sauce.
Horseradish sauce is something I always, ALWAYS have in my kitchen. Its not just good to serve with roast beef you know. Its also a vital component in cocktail sauce and many other things. it also keeps for a fairly long time in the refrigerator.
It is one of my "secret" ingredients that I slip into a few things without people knowing. Stews and gravies to name just a few. Not a lot, just a hint.
And people who wouldn't touch horseradish with a ten foot pole never notice its there. They know that there is a unique flavor boost that is quite delicious, but can't quite put their finger on it. I do not bother to enlighten them.
I once heard a story of a woman who was enjoying a roast dinner to excess. When done she said to the cook, "That was the nicest roast dinner I have ever had. What was the meat?"
The cook answered, "Roast Pork." To which the woman exclaimed, "You know I don't like roast pork!"
True story that.
I adore baby arugula/rocket. It is not something I had ever tasted prior to moving to the UK. It has a lovely meaty and peppery taste that I really enjoy.
It goes very well in sandwiches such as this one. Donna Hay used watercress, but its not something I have ever seen here and to be honest is not always easily accessible in any case. Rocket is a wonderful substitution.
Altogether this sandwich is a beautiful sandwich filled with lots of lovely textures and flavors. I loved the garlicky crunchiness of the toasted bread, countered by the mellow creaminess of the horseradish mayo.
Then there is the spiced, peppery steaks and those meaty mushrooms, perfectly balanced by the peppery green freshness of the arugula/rocket.
This is a knife and fork sandwich. It makes for a lovely light supper that is quick and easy to make, but can also be made into a heart supper with a few additions such as thick cut chips and onion rings. Yum yum!!
Grilled Steak Sandwich
Yield: 2
Prep time: 5 MinCook time: 15 MinTotal time: 20 Min
This is a delicious, yet simple open faced steak sandwich. The amounts are for two servings, but can very easily be multiplied to serve more.
Ingredients
- 2 TBS butter
- 6 large brown mushrooms (I used chestnut mushrooms)
- 2 single serve eye of round steaks, each cut in half through the middle (1/2 inch thick, cut to 1/4 inch thick)
- Montreal steak spice to taste
- 2 slices of gouda cheese, cut in half crosswise
- 2 thick slices of rustic country bread
- olive oil to brush
- 1 small clove of garlic, peeled and cut in half
- 1/4 cup (75g) whole egg mayonnaise
- 1 TBS horseradish cream
- a handful of fresh baby arugula (rocket)
- salt and black pepper to taste
Instructions
- Take your steaks, rub them all over with Montreal Steak Spice and set aside.
- Whisk together the mayonnaise and horseradish in a small bowl. Set aside
- Wipe your mushrooms clean, trim and then cut in half through the middle to give you 12 thick rounds.
- Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it starts to foam. Add the mushrooms, cut side down. Fry, without disturbing, for approximately 4 minutes, flip over and brown on the other side for an additional 4 minutes. Set aside and keep warm.
- Wipe out the skillet with some paper towels. Add the other TBS of the butter and heat over high heat. Add the steak slices and brown/sear them quickly on both sides. It won't take long, only a bout 1 minute to 1 minute per side. Remove from the heat, top each with 1/2 slice of the cheese, cover and set aside while you do the toast.
- Brush one side of the bread slices with some olive oil. Pop under a grill and toast lightly until golden brown. Rub lightly with the cut side of the garlic.
- Place the slices of toasted bread on each of two serving plates. Spread each with half of the horseradish mayo. Scatter some rocket over top and then place two slices of cheese covered steak on top of each sandwich. Top with half of the mushrooms. Season lightly with freshly ground sea salt and black pepper. Garnish with a few additional rocket leaves and serve immediately.
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
There is nothing that says I love you more than a delicious old fashioned cherry cobbler. There is something about that quintessential combination that just feels and tastes like a warm hug.
I have streamlined it a bit by using tinned cherry pie filling. I don't have a problem with that. I love cherry pie filling and if you use a really good quality one, it can't be equaled in my opinion.
I used E. D. Smith Cherry Pie filling. In my opinion it is the best. You have a large proportion of cherries to sauce. Not like some of the cheaper versions that are mostly sauce with very few cherries.
I also love the color of it. You could of course make your own pie filling from scratch. I do have a recipe for how to do just that here. Some days you just feel lazy however, or are lacking in time, and there is nothing wrong with that.
With most of us still being in lockdown and not able to take our father's (Or husbands) out for meals this Father's day, making a small sized dessert for two just makes sense, and this dessert is perfectly sized for two.
You can of course double it to serve four. Easy peasy.
You might be concerned that you will waste the other half tin of pie filling. I don't think that will be a problem. You can keep unused cherry pie filling in an airtight container for about a week, which is ample enough time to get it used up.
You can also freeze it in an airtight container for even longer storage.
Bear in mind that cherry pie filling makes an excellent topping for cheese cake and all sorts. I do have a recipe for a small batch cheese cake here. I can tell you up front, it is excellent.
Just swirl the leftover pie filling through it instead of cherry jam. Once again, easy peasy.
This really is a very simple recipe, which enables you to get on with doing other things. Its as simple as popping your filling into an oven-proof skillet and topping it with an easy buttermilk biscuit topping.
The topping is very easy to make. Just whisk together some dry ingredients . . . flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and soda.
Once you have done that you stir together cold buttermilk and some melted butter. The cool temperature of the buttermilk causes the melted butter to seize up, forming little globs of fat throughout the milk.
This is exactly what you want.
The buttermilk gives the biscuit topping in this dessert a really lovely light and tender texture. You might think that stirring the melted butter into it cold wouldn't work well, but it is exactly what you want.
When it breaks down like that and you stir it into the flour mixture, it ensures that the butter is well distributed, almost as if you had cut it in with a pastry blender. Again, such a simple thing, but great results.
The batter gets dropped over the cherry filling by the tablespoon. Make sure you leave plenty of space between each drop of batter.
As it cooks it will expand and almost join together. Its nice to have little spots that the cherry filling can bubble up through. Yummy!!
I have not done so myself, but I am pretty certain that you could do this with just about any kind of fruit pie filling to make a cobbler dessert.
Apple would be lovely as would blueberry. Even rhubarb if you can get it. Now my tastebuds are tingling in overtime and I am wishing I had bought that can of rhubarb pie filling I saw the other day!
This is the perfect dessert for busy days. Its so quick and easy to put together and cooks very quickly as well. Its also very family friendly.
Well, small family friendly anyways. I can't think of any man that would turn his nose up at this simple and yet incredibly delicious dessert!
When I was making this dessert the Billy Boy song kept going through my head. It was a song we learned when I was in Kindergarten. It went like this:
"Can she bake a cherry pie, Billy Boy, Billy Boy. Can she bake a cherry pie, charming Billy.
She can bake a cherry pie, quicker than you can blink an eye, but she's too young and cannot leave her mother."
I would go so far as to say that everyone can easily bake this charming, quaint little dessert. It is every bit as delicious as a cherry pie, maybe even more so. Especially if you serve it warm with scoop of cold vanilla ice cream on top. Yummilicious!
(Dad stopped by for a grilled cheese the other day.)
Happy Father's day to all you Dad's out there! We are getting together with my dad at my sister's. She is making him swiss steak and mashed potatoes and I am bringing a Lemon Meringue Pie, which is his favorite.
He is going to be spoiled for sure! But then again, why not! We are just so blessed to still have him around to spoil!
Skillet Cherry Cobbler
Yield: 2
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
This is a delicious cobbler, cooked in a small iron skillet and perfectly sized for two.
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 1/2 cup (70g) plain all purpose flour
- 3 TBS granulated sugar
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/8 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup (60ml) cold buttermilk
- 2 TBS butter, melted and cooled
For the cherry base:
- 1/2 tin of really good quality cherry pie filling (I used E.D. Smith)
You will also need:
- Vanilla ice cream to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400*F/200*C/gas mark 6. Have ready an 8 inch cast iron or other oven-proof skillet. Place the cherry filling into the skillet and set aside while you make the topping.
- Whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, soda and salt together in a bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk and melted butter. (The butter should form little globules of fat.) Stir the buttermilk mixture and the butter mixture together just to combine.
- Drop by the TBS over the top of the cherries in the skillet, leaving about 1/2 inch between each.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until the biscuit topping is golden brown and risen, and the cherry filling is bubbling.
- Serve warm with some vanilla ice cream.
Thanks so much for visiting! Do come again!
Follow my blog with Bloglovin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Social Icons