Green gazpacho with nuts

The traditional gazpacho, elaborated with tomatoes, is one of the most refreshing, tasty and satiating entrees or drinks of the summer. At home I always have a jug in the fridge, we like it very much and we usually consume it at different times of the day. This year I wanted to try a green gazpacho and, if the result we liked, to be able to alternate with the traditional one.

So I started looking for different recipes to see what ingredients were used in their process, most of them matched in two ingredients: cucumber and spinach.

I guided by two recipes, one from Ottolengui’s book Plenty and another from the book Magic Soup. The rest varied a lot, some of them added bread, some nuts, some used both (bread and nuts), celery, green pepper, parsley … In the end I collected all those ingredients that were most to my liking and added some others (such as cilantro, Coconut milk and hazelnuts).

The quantities I readjusted on the go, which is the same as you can do if any of the ingredients you like more. The result is a gazpacho very, very fresh, full of flavor and aromas with a very particular texture thanks to the nuts, that can remind us to the “Ajoblanco” (a fresh cream made with natural almonds, garlic, bread, wine vinegar, olive oil, water and salt). We liked it immensely.

Some important steps to take into account when making green gazpacho.

• The cucumber must be peeled, otherwise the final taste will be slightly bitter.
• Baby spinach has a lot more tender leaves than mature spinach, but you can use this last if you can not find it.
• I decided to mix almond and hazelnut because they provide totally different flavors and aromas, but you can use a single variety of them or even replace them with walnuts.
• The use of coconut milk makes the gazpacho suitable for vegans, in addition to providing a smooth and very creamy texture. But, I know that many of you do not like this ingredient and can be substituted for natural Greek yogurt or crème fraîche.
• It is not mandatory to use all the aromatic herbs I use, but the mint brings a lot of freshness and combined with basil the result is exceptional.
• The olive oil should be added when you already have the cream processed and in a fine and continuous thread while still blending. In this way you will obtain a perfect emulsion.
• Coconut milk, yogurt or crème fraîche should be the last ingredient that you integrate into the cream.
• In my case I omitted the added bread because I never use it in the gazpacho, but if you want you can integrate it without problems.

We must bear in mind that the addition of coconut milk or crème fraîche, will reduce the useful life of the green gazpacho. It will last us much less time than if we add yogurt. But I think this is not a problem at all, especially if we calculate the serves we will consume in the next 2 days and … which is very good!

GREEN GAZPACHO WITH NUTS

2 large serves or 4 small serves

• 1 y 1/2 peeled cucumber, about 6,5 oz (185 g)
• 3,5 oz (100 g) baby spinach
• 1,4 oz (40 g) salted fried almonds
• 1,4 oz (40 g) roasted hazelnuts
• 0,2 oz (6 g) fresh mint leaves
• 0,07- 0,1 oz (2-3 g) fresh basil leaves
• 0,1-0,14 oz (3-4 g)fresh cilantro leaves
• 0,07 oz (2 g) green chile
• 2 garlic cloves, about 0,17 oz (5 g)
• 3 oz (85 g) canned coconut milk
• 5,45 oz (155 g) water
• 0,7 oz (20 g) light olive oil
• 0,5-0,7 oz (15-20 g) apple vinegar (I used 20 g)
• salt to taste

GARNISH:

• sprouts (baby chard leaves, arugula and lamb´s lettuce)
• edible flowers

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make green gazpacho.

1. Wash and drain the spinach and aromatic herbs.
2. In a blender add the peeled cucumber, cut into slices, along with spinach, nuts, aromatic herbs, garlic, chile and half of water.
3. Blend until you get a very fine and smooth cream, it will take us a few minutes.
4. Pour the remaining water and blend again.
5. Add the olive oil in a fine and continuous thread and processing at the same time.
6. Add salt and apple vinegar in the same way.
7. finally, add coconut milk and blend again until smooth.
8. Rectify salt and apple vinegar if necessary.
9. Store in a glass jar or jug in the refrigerator for at least 3-4 hours, ideally to consume it cold.

Serve green gazpacho.

1. Serve in wide glass vessels or in airtight glass containers.
2. Divide green gazpacho and garnish with sprouts and edible flowers.
3. Serve.

PRESERVATION: We can keep this green gazpacho in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

This green gazpacho is an explosion of flavor with a very nice texture, not to say that it is a source of vitamins and fiber, it is diuretic. Although, you must remember that we should not abuse creams, soups (uncooked) and smoothies made with spinach.

These have a high content of oxalate (type of salt that usually binds to calcium) and potassium that, consumed in large quantities, can cause kidney stones. When cooking spinach they lose a high percentage of oxalates, although they should always be consumed in moderation.

To serve this gazpacho I follow the presentation of the book Magic Soup that uses a very similar one to serve a cream of nettles. I thought so elegant, fresh and spring, I decided to bring this same format 🙂

I hope you enjoy it and that this summer in your fridge there is not only tomato gazpacho but also, green gazpacho.

Big hugs,
Eva

Source: Journal of Agriculture and Food Chemistry