RSSThe Soup Hit Of The Summer
August 21, 2009
It’s almost over.
My year begins and ends in summer. It’s when I decide how far I’ve come in the past year and where I hope to go in the next. The month of July is the pivot. We go to PEI, Canada’s smallest province. It’s a month-long family reunion.
As do many of us from the Maritime provinces, maybe PEI in particular, we are drawn back there like robots with a homing device installed in our temples. Some have moved back permanently, many more would like to, and the rest of us get as close as we can.
We leave more behind every year, both figuratively and literally. Friends and family basements are storing more beach bags full of gear. We’re secretly trying to transfer our lives and hoping nobody will notice.
We cry on the plane all the way home. We can be found wandering our cities, an army of forlorn women. You’ll know it’s us because we’re in flip-flops and sundresses, refusing to take them off. You will find a piece of beach glass clutched in our sweaty palms. We’ll deliver a swift roundhouse to anyone who tries to touch our starfish necklace. All that kickboxing wasn’t for nothing.
My brother-in-law is a chef. He can prepare 5-Star menus that seem more art than food. He can also make shockingly good-tasting food from the simplest ingredients. And he’s fast. Simple and fast in the kitchen? My kind of guy.
Xavier made this gazpacho in 12 minutes in a cottage. It was on the table in a huge plastic bowl. I had 6 cups and I kept sneaking looks back at the bowl to see if I could get the last cup without being piggy.
Xavier’s PEI Cottage Gazpacho
Ingredients
- 1 cup celery diced (no measuring cups in a cottage, just toss in whatever)
- 2 English cucumbers, diced
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 yellow pepper, diced
- other crunchy veg (so like what? radish, green onion for sure, red onion, nectarine comes to mind for some reason; carrot is too crunchy and hard to get into 1cm cubes; broccoli and cauliflower would get too shredded; avocado could be great though the broth would look more opaque; watermelon; seeded Roma tomatoes)
- 1\2 bunch basil, snipped into little pieces with scissors or a knife (fresh thyme? a little parsley? sure, toss them in)
- Clamato, 1 bottle (extra spicy is an option), or whatever will cover the amount of vegetables you used
- salt and pepper to taste
- tabasco to taste – let people add this at the end if you like
- balsamic vinegar
- olive oil
- L&P sauce (Worcest. sauce)
Method
Just cutting and pasting from all the other recipes on this site : throw it all into a bowl.
Any ingredients without quantities are: a few drops, more to taste.
This wasn’t pureed in any way, which I much prefer. It’s a gazpacho, so it’s served cold.
You could serve it in a punch bowl, with cups. Or just sit in the corner with your own bowl and drink it all by yourself.
Comments
6 Responses to “The Soup Hit Of The Summer”
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This is the absolute best ever cold soup!!!!!!!!! Served it this week to my dance guests….rave reviews! Low fat, well let’s make that no fat …AND extremely tasty! Thanks so much for the sharing.
It really was good, and I don’t even like Clamato.
Your bro-in-law is MY kind of guy too – what a cutie! Does he need a girlfriend? A sous chef? Either way, he’s got a fan in California.
Glad the guests liked it, Gina. Xavier pre-chops the ingredients, puts them in a covered bowl in the fridge, and fixes up the rest just before eating.
Sonja – you know, I’ve never even had Clamato, but I imagine it might be “clam-y”. I guess they make it for Caesars. There is absolutely NO seafood taste to this soup. I never even considered it till now.
Caroline – you know what? he’s even nicer than he is cute. Hey, Xavier !! Maybe Ladies Cooking Tours in exotic locations?
well now, I made it with the extra-spicy clamato juice and found it over- powered the subtle flavours of the veggies so I am back to regular clamato.
And by the way clamato does not taste clammy… at all! It is high sodium but very yummy. Do you make it with tomato juice only?
But seriously it is addictive.
Hi, Gina,
So far, I’ve always made it with Clamato. It’s so good that I haven’t messed with success. Good point about the sodium. I wonder if they make a reduced-salt version.