Cold Tomatillos and Avocado Soup--A Green Gazpacho

After many rainy days we have suffered this month, suddenly we got caught in a very hot weather. With temperature above 90 F, it feels more like July than May. I have already prepared some recipes to post, but these hot days made me crave for a different food than I was planning to share, so I decided to make a cold soup to help myself cope with the heatwave and, by the same token, to start the summer cooking season.

There are many well known cold soups worldwide, and even in Poland, where summers are not typically Mediterranean, we have a couple of them with the leading cold beet and yogurt soup. It is absolutely my favorite--so very Polish and at the same time unique in the composition of vegetables and herbs used in it. My second favorite is the Spanish gazpacho, which I can also eat by gallons. Those wonderful, purely vegetarian soups not only help to chill, but also are very low in calories and healthy. Both are loved by my kids, who typically are not great vegetable eaters, so I am always very happy to make these soups as often as I can.

Being fascinated by food I look constantly for new and inspiring ideas. Recently, in a small Spanish booklet advertising pots, I found a recipe for tomatillos and avocado summer soup. It was a simple (two-ingredient) and a very exciting recipe. I could imagine how tangy tomatillos would complement the mild and delicate taste of avocados, and I have been curious to try this soup since winter. Finally, the right day came. I made it yesterday.

This soup is very original, even compared to other cold soups, not only because of the generous use of oil, but also because avocado makes it quite rich. If you are not familiar with tomatillos, you may be surprised how differently their taste than the regular red tomatoes. Because this soup is is more filling than a regular gazpacho, you can turn it into an interesting starter, for example at large outdoor party, by serving small amounts of it in petite glasses.

If you are a fan of cold soups please try this one and I do not think you will be disappointed.

Cold Tomatillos and Avocado Soup
Serves 6-8 people

Ingredients:
2 lb fresh tomatillos,
2 ripe Haas avocados,
1 large garlic clove,
1/2 cup olive oil,
1/4 cup vinegar, preferably Jerez, but any white vinegar (e.g., cider or rice) can be used,
1 tsp sugar,
salt and freshly ground pepper.

Preparation:
1. Peel off the tomatillos from their "papery" shells. Cut them in quarters and place in a food processor.
2. Peel the avocados, remove the stones, and add their flesh to the food processor.
3. Add garlic olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper, and run the processor until all the ingredients are pure and have the consistency of a cream soup.
4. Transfer the soup to a large container and chill for at least four hours before serving, but the soup would be even better on the next day.

Serve drizzled with olive oil on top.

Okra with Almonds--Spicy and Crunchy

I first tried okra in England and ate it quite often there. I had it mostly the Indian way, with a spicy tomato sauce--its acidity helps eliminate the slime that okra produces. Here in the U.S. okra is popular in the South, where it is served mostly deep fried and often breaded, or also in a rich tomato sauce. As always some love it--despite its rather bland taste and sliminess, but some do not see anything special in it. It's delicate taste may be enriched with spices, the same way it can be done with other delicate vegetables, like pumpkin or zucchini.

Last week, okra, or lady's fingers, as it is also called, showed up en masse in Asian and Middle Eastern grocery stores in my area. It looked exceptionally fresh and green. This is not always the case with okra, which is a rather fragile vegetable and can get easily damaged in transportation. I bought a pound of it and prepared for dinner. I made it according to the recipe that I got years ago, probably in England.

Preparing okra this way seemed interesting as it has some Indian spices, but not tomatoes, which may overshadow okra's subtle taste. The okra I bought was very young and fresh and somehow not slimy at all. But if you are not so lucky, you can eliminate sliminess by soaking okra in vinegar for about 10 minutes. Also, adding a couple of drops of lemon juice to okra should resolve that problem.

I must say that the more often i prepare okra, the more I enjoy its taste and do not mind its slimy texture.

Okra with Almonds

Ingredients:
1 lb fresh okra,
1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds,
2 tbsp olive oil,
3 garlic cloves, minced,
2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated,
2 tsp ground cumin,
2 tsp ground coriander,
1 tbsp red paprika,
salt and pepper.

Preparation:
1. Wash okra and cut the stems off.

2. If you use raw almonds put them on a hot pan and toast turning constantly until gold. Remove and save.
3. Pour oil into the same frying pan, heat it, add okra and fry for about 3 minutes.
4. Add garlic, ginger, spices, stir in, and cook together for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the spices coat the okra.
5. Add a cup of water, season with salt and pepper, and cook further for about 5 minutes, or until okra feels tender.
6. Add almonds and stir them in.

Serve with white basmati or jasmine rice, bread or by itself.

Shrimps in Garlic Oil--to Eat or Not to Eat

This dish is one of the first ones I made when I started this blog. I was not sure at that time what to post, so I cooked almost everything that came to mind. And I did this one even though I am not a big fan of shrimps. I cooked it, tried, and wrote down the proportions, hoping that someone may enjoy it. Good shrimps and scallops are very popular among the seafood lovers.

This recipe has been awaiting its turn for almost a year and since I have been recently very busy with finishing my new deck and outdoor kitchen and, ironically, I have been cooking less than usual, I decided to post this recipe now. It is another very easy dish that is ready in three minutes. I post it also because I like these pictures of the shrimps, perhaps more than I like to eat them.

Besides the good quality and fresh shrimps this dish is based on a very high quality olive oil, with a lot of garlic and piri piri that I had trouble to buy, so replaced it with chili peppers. Those who like shrimps and tried them prepared this way liked this dish very much. And half of the pleasure eating that dish comes from soaking a piece of baguette in the leftover oil and enjoying it with a glass of Spanish red wine.

Spicy Shrimps in Garlic

Ingredients:
1 lb raw jumbo shrimps without shells,
1/2 head of garlic,
juice from half a lemon,
1 cup of extra virgin olive oil,
a couple of dried chili papers, or more depending on how spicy you want it to be.

Preparation:
1. Peel off garlic, squeeze lightly with a knife and chop. It is important not to crush it entirely but to chop it thoroughly.
2. Heat the oil, add garlic, and fry for 2-3 minutes, until it becomes gold.
3. Add lemon juice and chili peppers.
4. Add the shrimps, stir them in oil, and cook for 2 minutes until they turn pink.
5. Put the dish on a serving plate and serve with a fresh baguette.