Green Gazpacho

Green Gazpacho is one of my very favorite things to serve as a first course on a hot day.  For some reason, I like it even better than red, but I do like both.  I love the vibrant green color of this cold soup and thinks it looks especially great when served in a white dish to highlight its bright color.  I have to admit that while making this soup today I boiled the tomatillos a little longer than I normally like to do because I got caught up pruning some ivy that was trying to overtake my herb garden.  It didn’t really affect the outcome too much other than I felt like it wasn’t as bright spring green as it usually is.  In my opinion this soup perfectly showcases the awesomeness of a Vita Mix.  If you don’t already have one, I highly recommend them.  They are a very expensive investment, but should last you a lifetime.  I use mine at least twice a day.  Besides being ultra powerful, they have very low speeds that allow you to coarsely chop things like you want to do when making salsa or the last part of this soup.   The ultra powerful setting is great when trying to make a creamy soup that won’t even need cream!  (And no, I’m not a Vita Mix sales rep.) This gazpacho is a great dish for vegans or vegetarians as well as really anyone trying to eat more vegetables.   (Use vegetable stock instead of the chicken stock, if you are serving this to vegetarians.) Most gazpacho recipes call for bread, but I like the richness of the marcona almonds and don’t really think the bread adds anything other than empty calories to this dish. I would rather enjoy a hot, crusty slice of artisan bread alongside it when I can really taste it and appreciate those extra calories rather than mask it by adding it to the soup.  Since my roasted marcona almonds were fairly oily I did not add the optional olive oil.   When making your own green gazpacho, feel free to experiment by adding other veggies or herbs.  This is my basic recipe, but I often add different things depending on my mood or what I happen to have on hand and I NEVER measure, I just throw it all in!  =) A jalapeno or two would add a nice kick.    

Green Gazpacho

-1.5 pounds Tomatillos

-2 Yellow Bell Peppers, roughly chopped

-2 English Cucumbers, roughly chopped

-Parsley, one handful

-Cilantro, one handful

-2 or 3 Garlic Cloves

-1/2 Shallot

-1 head Romaine Lettuce, roughly chopped

-1/2 pint container Marcona Almonds

-1 or 2 Avocados

-2-5 Tbsp. Sherry Vinegar (depending on how vinegary you like things)

-1 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional)

-Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

-Chicken or Vegetable Stock

-Chicken or Vegetable Bouillon (optional)

Directions: Fill a pot with water and bring to a boil. Peel the papery husk away from the tomatillos and rinse them.   Boil the tomatillos for about 3 minutes, drain and set aside.  Place tomatillos, garlic, shallot, bouillon, sherry vinegar, marcona almonds, parsley, cilantro, chicken stock and romaine lettuce in Vita Mix or other blend and puree.  Leaving a small amount of this puree in the blender, add the bell peppers, cucumbers and avocado, and pulse on low speed until mostly pureed but still a little chunky. (or smooth if you don’t like chunky) Mix this with the other batch, taste and add salt pepper and more sherry vinegar if necessary. Place in a covered container in fridge until ready to serve, or at least 3 hours.  To serve, pour into a small bowl or tea cup and garnish with a cilantro leaf.  If you would like you can pass additional finely chopped cucumber and bell pepper for guests to mix in themselves. 

I served this as a main course to Grilled Salmon with an Orange Reduction, Sauteed Baby Carrots with Honey & Apple Cider Vinegar and Grilled Corn on the Cob.