cucumber pistachio gazpacho
My husband’s Italian grandmother is 95 and STILL grows vegetables in her yard each summer. Yesterday she happened to have a bounty of large, ready to eat cucumbers (not to mention the roma tomatoes I snagged from the pots on her back deck!) and as always, was eager to share her vegetable fortune.
My first thought was, great, I’ll add them to my salads this week. But I’m writing a food and travel blog now…my people need more than just chopped cucumbers thrown on top of their salads!
This brings me to gazpacho. I like gazpacho, but never make it myself. This stems from watching a friend make it for dinner over 20 years ago. She loaded all of the lovely vegetables into the blender, and before she put the lid on, she put a hunk bread in with the veggies and pressed “puree”. Now, I love bread. But I HATE wet bread. The thought of swallowing soggy bread makes me gag (you can imagine my impediment trying to eat my friend’s soggy bread gazpacho), and has kept me from making it in my home…until now.
I spent the better part of this morning trying to thing of something to make with the cucumbers….pickles, chopped salad, pickles….gazpacho! But, I didn’t want a bowl of cucumber water and I wasn’t about to add bread to thicken it. So, I added a zucchini and some pistachios to give the soup some body. I garnished it with some crumbled feta and chopped pistachios and it was fabulous.
Cucumber Pistachio Gazpacho
2 medium (3 cups) cucumbers, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
1 medium (1 1/2 cups) zucchini, roughly chopped
1/3 cup (about 1/4) sweet white onion, roughly chopped
1/3 cup (40 grams) pistachios
1 tablespoon (15 ml) good quality sherry vinegar
3 tablespoons (30 ml) extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup (75 ml) water
salt and white pepper to taste
chopped pistachios, crumbled feta and olive oil to garnish
In a blender, place all ingredients except salt, pepper and garnishes. Puree until smooth, adding a bit more water if needed. Add salt and pepper to taste, blending well after seasioning.
Gazpacho can be refrigerated until needed (up to 24 hours) or served immediately. To serve, divide between 4 bowls, top with crumbled feta, chopped pistachios and a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
Thank you, Nana
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One Response to “cucumber pistachio gazpacho”
Can’t wait to try it. I have made gazpacho with Marcona Almonds, as the thickener, so I am sure this will be great too.