Sunday, September 10, 2006

GaSpacho Alentejano, the Nowhere Way.

I've now read so many tasty-sounding suggestions & variations that this will sound a bit ordinary. In any case, I can never follow any written recipe without inventing my own version that only the basic matters- which is what follows here. And Marjan, don't worry, whatever it looked like in the photo, it is 100% vegan. My supplementary snack in this picture isn't, but it's your own choice.
Although it's getting late for some now, it's early for others, the main point being, for those who don't know, this is a cold soup!
*****
Time to Prepare, including cutting veg: 20 minutes.
Ingredients (for 6 servings):
4 ripe tomatoes
1 green pimento (&/or red optional)
3 cloves of garlic
4 soup-spoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 soup-spoons white wine vinegar
sea salt
2 slices of stale bread (I used 3 of toasted garlic-bread)
oregano as much as you want
fresh coriander.
PREPARATION:
-Add into a large bowl the crushed garlic, salt, olive oil & vinegar, mixing well;
- Cut all the vegetables and bread into small cubes, then add to the bowl, topping with the chopped coriander & oregano;
- Fill the bowl with iced water, or room-temperature and ice-cubes (I put it back in the fridge till I was ready for it, and in fact I only finished it 5 days later, no problem.
I also added a little white wine and just a few drops of freshly pressed lemon juice, finishingwithsome herbes de Provençe to complete. It was delicious. In the picture (serving suggestion!?), you see the perfect Mediterranean lunch - green olives stuffed with red pimento, turkey ham & Greek feta cheese, in olive-oil, herbes de Provençe & a Palestinian spice called summaq,that doesn't exist in Portugal and fresh crusty bread. I drank sparkling cold mineral water (had to keep alert!). Posted by Picasa

9 comments:

Icarus said...

I'm adding the first comment to apologise to Ana S & anyone else who noticed my gaffe. In fact, I noticed it yesterday, but forgot to correct it. Done it now, though!

marjan hols reis photography said...

Congratulations
this looks great very nice dishes very good picture

Meg said...

Yum! Summaq is in the... soup? Cheese?

Carlos said...

Your picture is great. Besides the contents, I realy like your dishes.

Icarus said...

Marjan & Carlos, those dishes - all bought in the Alentejo! They're great, aren't they?
Meg, you know summaq? It's unusual to put it on the cheese, which I did. It can go into meats, salads and soups, which strangely I didn't try here! There isn't much left, but I still have a good supply of hawajej for soups and another spice that I lost the name of. The Palestinian spice-seller I bought these from in the Arab Quarter of Jerusalem a few years ago told me to sprinkle it on bread soaked in olive oil for a snack. Which i do for special treats. It's superb! All fantastic colours too!

P said...

miam... i will try your gaspacho alentejano! i love garlic, coriander, olive oil, pimentos... so i will love it, it has to be this way :)



un autre jour je vais partager avec toi la recette des "patates à la huancaína"... (ahlala qu'elle est bonne cette recette dont ma mère est la "propriétaire" ;)

Joana said...

If you want sumac I can send you some, there are some turkish and lebanese shops here in Acton
(you can't have Fatoush salad without it)

Meg said...

Isn't globalization good when it works? Summaq has been a standard in our supermarkets! I use it sometimes for meat and especially fish dishes. Lovely aroma. Yum...

Icarus said...

Pilar, por favor, si! Autant que ta mère soit d'accord de me l'emprunter!
Joana, Acton of course!! How stupid of me to forget. It 's where all my old Lebanese friends & colleagues lived! Oh, did they know a thing or two about hospitality! what eating! I think I'll take you up on your offer, as I can't keep this dwindling supply going forever & I can't see me popping over to Acton in the near future.
And Meg,why is it so freely available in NZ? Is there a large Middle Eastern community?