dwccrew08
11-20-2009, 03:22 PM
If you are like me, you love eating salsa. Well, I always felt weird with a spoon and a jar of salsa, so I set out to find a more appropriate dish that had the essence of salsa (vegetables, vinegar, spices!), but was a proper meal! That lead me to gazpacho. You have likely heard of gazpacho--I had not! It is a severely underrated dish. Not only does it taste great but it is primal to a T.
A brief history of gazpacho (from wikipedia, of course): There are a couple of different theories about where gazpacho came from. Some believe it was an Arab soup of bread (boo!), olive oil, water and garlic that arrived in Spain with the Moors; or via the Romans with the addition of vinegar.
Once in Spain it became a part of Andalusian cuisine, particularly Seville, using stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar, similar to ajoblanco. Tomato was added to the recipe after it was brought to Europe after the Columbian Exchange which began in 1492. The dish remained popular with field hands as a way to cool off during the summer and to use available ingredients such as fresh vegetables and stale bread.
My favorite primal version of gazpacho--Greek style:
Ingredients
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly chopped oregano leaves
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons good olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 large can tomato juice
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces good feta cheese, small-diced not crumbled for garnish
Directions:
Chop up the garlic, oregano, and parsley in a food processor. Keeping adding the vinegar and olive oil until it is smooth. Stick it in a bowl and put it off to the side.
Then place the peppers, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives into the processor and process until very coarsely chopped.
Finally, add the tomato juice, salt, and pepper and stir (a primal workout in itself!).
Add some additional salt and pepper if necessary, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate! I recommend 3-4 hours in the fridge at least.
Serve cold and garnish with the feta!
(Recipe originally taken from Ina Garten)
Above is a variation of the Greek Gazpacho with an olive oil ice cube in the middle!
A brief history of gazpacho (from wikipedia, of course): There are a couple of different theories about where gazpacho came from. Some believe it was an Arab soup of bread (boo!), olive oil, water and garlic that arrived in Spain with the Moors; or via the Romans with the addition of vinegar.
Once in Spain it became a part of Andalusian cuisine, particularly Seville, using stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar, similar to ajoblanco. Tomato was added to the recipe after it was brought to Europe after the Columbian Exchange which began in 1492. The dish remained popular with field hands as a way to cool off during the summer and to use available ingredients such as fresh vegetables and stale bread.
My favorite primal version of gazpacho--Greek style:
Ingredients
6 large cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons freshly chopped oregano leaves
2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
5 tablespoons red wine vinegar
5 tablespoons good olive oil
1 red bell pepper, seeded chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 red onions, chopped
1 seedless cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and chopped
4 large ripe tomatoes, chopped
1 cup kalamata olives, pitted and chopped
1 large can tomato juice
4 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
8 ounces good feta cheese, small-diced not crumbled for garnish
Directions:
Chop up the garlic, oregano, and parsley in a food processor. Keeping adding the vinegar and olive oil until it is smooth. Stick it in a bowl and put it off to the side.
Then place the peppers, red onion, cucumbers, tomatoes, and olives into the processor and process until very coarsely chopped.
Finally, add the tomato juice, salt, and pepper and stir (a primal workout in itself!).
Add some additional salt and pepper if necessary, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate! I recommend 3-4 hours in the fridge at least.
Serve cold and garnish with the feta!
(Recipe originally taken from Ina Garten)
Above is a variation of the Greek Gazpacho with an olive oil ice cube in the middle!