Gazpacho with Scallop

Normally I'm not a gazpacho man. Sad, but true. But we're in the thick of summer, and when I came back from the garden with tomatoes, a green pepper (I'm letting the bulk of the bell peppers ripen further.), garlic, and cucumbers I just couldn't help myself. So I did what any self-respecting person who has eaten in Jaleo or Cafe Atlantico (mini bar technically, but close enough) would do and googled Jose Andres and gazpacho and then began pouring through the links. After reading this post I didn't have much of an interest in posting on the subject here. That one seemed just about perfect. But I couldn't help myself and here we are.

I kept it simple, with just the aforementioned ingredients and salt, pepper, a slice of bread (no crust), olive oil, and red wine vinegar. As tempting as it was to add a serrano and throw in some chopped basil, I just didn't have the heart--some things are sacred. The tomatoes were blanched and peeled, the cucumber skinned, and everything that could be was cut into chunks and went into the blender along with some extra water. After being blended and the seasonings adjusted it went through a strainer (the one pictured above) and chilled in the fridge.

Because I can't leave well enough alone, for serving I added one huge sea scallop I had picked up at Kate's Fish in the West Side Market. They were scaringly fresh, and all it took was some salt and pepper and a quick sear in some bacon fat (Surely a Spaniard would forgive the addition of scallop if it was cooked in pork fat?). Not quite cooked through, it went perfectly with the soup both right off the heat and also after being cooled down to soup temp in the fridge--I tried both ways. With a drizzle of olive oil, this will be a solid dish for summer company.

Not too rich a red--I used a lot of cucumber.

Pork Soup Lunch

Pork chunks wok cooked with cumin in a chicken stock broth with potatoes, carrots, onion, dried chiles, and summer savory. Soup on a hot day. I don't know why, but it works.

Almost French

Four simple courses, starting with the cheese above. For reasons mentioned in the last post, there will likely be more brie in my future. The wine is from the Market Avenue Wine Bar (50% off takeaway wines), which is sadly moving (closing?) in the near future. A biodynamic Cotes du Rhone winds up being about $16--not bad for a decent bottle. The bread source, unfortunately, is not worth mentioning.

Above is a classic vichyssoise (French or not), cooling in a sink half filled with water and ice packs. I followed a Julia Child recipe, available here. Basically it was just boiled leek whites and peeled potatoes pureed in a blender. I thinned with chicken stock from Souper Market, a local mini-chain of soup shops. They've got it to go fresh or frozen. While it may not have been the best stock in the history of stocks, it was definitely serviceable and beats boiling bones in 90+ weather (others around here have been braver). After blending I added just a bit of creme fraiche (maybe a tablespoon for four decent sized potatoes worth of soup) and seasoned aggressively with salt and pepper. Topped with some fresh chives it was perfect for the summer. Reaction from co-diner after tasting: "What kind of cream soup is this?" It took some explaining.

The fish course was meant to be sole meuniere made with whatever looked good at Kate's (see their writeup here, while it's available). Flounder seemed appropriate. Tom the fishmonger suggested cooking it Charleston style (is there really such a thing?), meaning hatched and cooked whole. I gave it a shot, first seasoning the whole headed and gutted fish with salt and pepper and then dipping it in flour before pan frying in a mix of butter and canola oil. After it was browned it went for a quick trip in a hot oven to cook through.

After it was cooked and resting I wiped out the pan and melted some butter with lemon juice and parsley. The fish was taken off the bone at the table and served with a wedge of lemon and some zucchini batons that were sauteed in butter with salt and pepper.
And finally, garden salad greens with fresh local blueberries. The vinaigrette is Dijon mustard, shallot, cider vinegar, honey (it's the year of the honey bee after all), olive oil, and salt and pepper. While I nearly always whisk a vinaigrette or shake it up in a closed jar, I did this one in a food processor and was pleased with the emulsion--it was even worth having to clean the processor. Next time I'll puree the blueberries with the vinaigrette, as the plump berries on the lettuce leaves were tasty, but a bit awkward.

Now, to learn desserts . . . .

It's hot outside

Pretty gross, in fact. Hot weather calls for hot food, as the folks in in the Caribbean, India, Mexico, and a whole bunch of other steamy places seem to have figured out. There's nothing fancy about this bowl of soup, but I had the ingredients laying around and it satisfied a craving.

Ingredients:
-Water
-Onions, cut pole to pole and sliced (they randomly sprouted up in the community garden)
-Radishes, cut into batons (Shaker Farmers Market)
-Red Mizuna, chopped (")
-Brown Oyster Mushrooms, chopped (", Killbuck Valley)
-Asparagus, cut into large pieces and sliced in half (", Muddy Fork Farm)
-Dried Chiles de Arbol (seeds removed and broken up in pieces)
-Chili Oil
-Pancetta, sliced thin
-Mint, sliced thinly (feral in the community garden)
-Salt
-Pepper
-Bragg Liquid Aminos (I was out of soy sauce)

Method:
-Put water on the boil
-Add chiles, chili oil, pancetta, and onion
-Once that's simmering add radishes, then mushrooms and asparagus as you feel they'll cook to your liking (there's a fair margin of error)
- Add mizuna shortly before taking off the heat
- Season with salt, pepper, and Bragg's (or soy sauce)
- Add mint to the bowls of soup (can also add sriracha if it's not hot enough)

Not much else to it. The flavor is good, but I'd like to try it with some other cuts of meat and flavoring to keep things fresh.

This week will likely be light on postings. Tonight, it's a plated landscape dinner at the aforementioned Muddy Fork Farm, some happy hour treats tomorrow, a Wednesday dinner with a few friends hosted by Cleveland's local food guru, and Friday a dinner prepared by some Thai exchange students (who are hopefully used to the heat). I know, it's a tough life. Unfortunately I'll have to squeeze some work in there somewhere.