GAZPACHO

I have been meaning to post this recipe for a long time now. I actually made it a few months ago for TGB's birthday dinner. Since I started making this at about midnight, I didn't take any pictures while I was cooking. My Tia and I were exhausted prepping everything and no one was in the mood to take pictures.

GAZPACHO

Ingredients

• 1 red onion, diced
• 5 lbs tomatoes, cored and diced
• 1 English cucumber (or 1 1/2 cucumbers) peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 5 teaspoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons minced flat-leaf parsley
• Fresh ground paper, to taste
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
• 2 cups cubed French bread
• 1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced

Preparation

1. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup of the onion, 1 cup of the tomatoes, 3/4 cup of the cucumbers, 1/2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon olive oil, parsley and pepper. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. In a blender or food processor combine the remaining onion, 4 teaspoons lemon juice, 1 tablespoon salt, garlic, and vinegar. Blend until the mixture is smooth.
3. Add the remaining tomatoes, cucumbers and red bell pepper and blend.
4. Add the french bread and puree. I like the gazpacho a little chunky.
5. Taste it and adjust the salt and pepper to taste.
6. Add the remaining olive oil and blend.
7. Transfer the soup to a soup bowl or container and cover with plastic wrap. Chill for at least an hour.
8. To serve, ladle the gazpacho into bowls and garnish with a heaping spoonful of the diced vegetables.

FIRE-ROASTED TOMATO BISQUE

This is a yummy soup! My daughter tried it and says that it tastes like pizza. It was a hit. Next time I will make homemade croutons to put on top of the soup.

This is what you will need: chicken stock, sea salt, pepper, fire-roasted tomatoes, sugar, heavy cream, all purpose flour, celery, carrot, garlic, butter, onion.

Finely chop 3 cloves of garlic, one carrot and one celery stalk.

Finely chop one medium onion.

In a heavy bottom pot melt 2 tablespoons of butter.

Add the chopped garlic, onion, carrot, and celery. Cook over medium high heat, until the vegetables are just beginning to brown, about 7 minutes.

Sprinkle 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour over the vegetables and stir over low heat until the flour is incorporated.

Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and sugar and bring to a boil. Cover partially and cook the soup over medium heat for about 15 minutes. The vegetables should all be tender.

Transfer the soup (in batches) to the blender and puree until smooth.

Return the soup to the pot and add the heavy cream. Cook until heated through. Add salt and pepper to taste. I added a scant teaspoon of salt and a couple of dashes of pepper.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl the soup around until the butter melts.

I decided at the last minuted to add about an 1/8 cup of shredded Parmesan cheese.

Yummy! I might add a little more next time or serve it with a little shredded Parmesan on top.

FIRE-ROASTED TOMATO BISQUE

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 4 cups chicken stock
• Two 14 1/2 oz cans diced fire-roasted tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/8 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Preparation

1. In a medium pot melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cover and cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are just beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
2. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and stir over low heat for about 1 minute until the flour is incorporated.
3. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and sugar and bring to a boil.
4. Partially cover the pot and cook the soup over medium heat for about 15 minutes. The vegetables should be tender.
5. Transfer the soup in batches to a blender and puree until smooth. (I like to have a few vegetable chunks in the soup. It makes it more interesting.)
6. Return the puree to the pot and add the cream and Parmesan cheese and cook until just heated through.
7. Add salt and pepper to taste.
8. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl the soup until the butter is melted.

Sopa de Platanos - Plantain Soup

My grandmother loves Sopa de Platano. Although it is simple to make, my grandmother prefers to go to the nearby Latin American Cafe and buy it. By now she knows the restaurant prepares this soup on Mondays and she and her sister usually head out there to get their fill. But don't be fooled, although she buys the soup she may still tell you that she made the soup as she serves it to you. It would not be the first time that either my grandmother or Tia did that.

My aunt had once invited a family over for dinner and wanted to impress them. Not knowing how to cook she decided to order Arroz con Mariscos (a seafood rice dish). She brought home her order, emptied out all the food into her own serving platters and then disposed of all the take out containers. During dinner one of her guest asked her how she made the wonderful dish and my Tia just started listing the ingredients she thought were in the dish and then her husband said that the preparation was "un secreto de su esposa" (his wife's secret). And her guest was none the wiser.

My Tia is slicker at this type of deception than my grandmother. At least my Tia hides all the evidence that it was a take out order. She has been know to do this with desserts and pies at Thanksgiving dinner.

The soup is actually very simple to make. All you need is green plantains, some broth, 2 cloves of garlic and some salt.

I peeled 2 green plantains and cut them into chunks. If you have never done that, you may find it easier to cut off the ends and then make 4 cuts from one end to the other. Then you should be able to peel it. I then put the plantain chunks in a pot and added water to cover the plantains. I also added 2 peeled cloves of garlic and boiled the plantains until tender. Reserve the water when done.

I then mashed the plantain chunks and the 2 garlic cloves with a fork and added about 1/2 cup of the reserved boiling water.

I heated about 5 cups of meat broth. (I had left over meat broth from boiling the flank steak for my Ropa Vieja.) Then I added the mashed green plantains and garlic and less than 1 teaspoon of salt. The soup will start to get thick.

I like to serve the soup with a couple of mariquitas (plantain chips).

SOPA DE PLATANO

Ingredients

• 2 green plantains, peeled and sliced into 1 inch rounds
• 5 cups meat broth
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• scant 1 teaspoon salt, to taste

Preparation

1. Place the plantains and garlic into a pot. Cover with water and boil until tender. Reserve the water.
2. Mash the plantains and garlic and add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of the reserved water.
3. Heat the broth. Add the mashed plantain and garlic mixture. Cook on a medium-low heat until the broth starts to thicken.
4. Salt to taste.