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    Thursday, January 30, 2014

    Excellent Gazpacho - Summer Perfect for those on The Paleo Diet

    Watermelon Gazpacho

    My Friend John is a Celiac, on a Gluten Free diet and recently he has embraced The Paleo Diet.
    It’s a challenge this diet but through John and through his wife JT, I have access to a couple of Paleo Cookbooks
    I found this recipe in a book called
    Nom Nom Paleo- Food For Humans

    This is probably the nicest Gazpacho I have ever had.
    I guess it is the Watermelon... it adds a sweetness.
    The coriander was an odd choice I thought, but it was just there in the back ground.
    Little added back taste

    I have only got an average blender, so I found that the best way to get the vege pureed was to whizz them in the food processor
    Then when I added the liquids and watermelon
    I finished off in the blender

    1 kg ripe tomatoes
    1 hot house cucumber  approx 450 gm peeled
    2 small shallots peeled and coarsely chopped
    1 med red pepper seeded cored and diced
    4 fresh stalks of coriander with leaves chopped
    3 cups cubed and seeded watermelon (about 500 gms)
    1 extra tomato for garnish chopped
    2 tbs sherry or cider vinegar
    ⅓ cup extra virgin Olive Oil
    Plus a little extra for garnish

    1 tsp sea salt
    Freshly ground black pepper
    Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional


    Fill a a large pot with water and bring it to the boil
    Prepare a large bowl with iced water
    Make a small cross on the bottom of each tomato

    Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato and drop them into the boiling water
    Blanch for 30 seconds
    Remove and drop into iced water

    After a few minutes the skin will just peel off easily
    Core and roughly chop them

    Finely dice ⅓ of the cucumber and set aside for garnish

    Roughly chop up the rest of the cucumber

    Toss the tomatoes, cucumber, shallot, red pepper and coriander into blender and puree until the vegetables are liquified.

    Add the watermelon, vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if using)

    Taste and adjust for seasoning

    Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or until fully chilled

    If the soup separates, just pop it back into the blender for a quick whizz

    Ladle into cups or bowls

    Garnish
    Toss the diced cucumber and tomatoes with Sea salt and Freshly ground black pepper and couple of teaspoons of olive oil

    Top the soup
     I served little dinner rolls with the Gazpacho
    This is from the recipe from this post Easy Bread

    The main course was simple,
    Sicilian Fish  For the recipe click here
    Roasted Kumera and a Rocket Salad
    Naturally there were some left overs
    Pre-dinner I put out some prawns and smoked mussels
    There were leftovers
    So next day what did I make BUT
    Fish Pie
    In The Save With Jamie Series. He mentioned that it was a good to keep some Frozen Fish in the Freezer. It is snap frozen immediately it is caught.
    Not that great to pan fry but perfect for Fish Pie or Fish Cakes
    A great standby
    Turned the Bread Rolls into Crumbs
    Grated 100 gms cheddar cheese
    I had some cooked Kumera, no necessary but an added extra

    Made a simple Bechamel Sauce

    1 litre whole milk
    1 bay leave
    1/2 onion studded with 3 cloves
    8 black freshly ground black pepper corns
    75 gms butter
    50 gms white flour
    2 tablespoons Chopped Parsley
     

    Heat milk with the bay leave, black peppercorns onion and cloves to infuse flavour
    The melt butter in pan
    Add flour and cook for about 5 minutes to get rid of raw taste
    Strain milk and add to pan



    Whisk well to combine and bring slowly to the boil stirring all of the time
    To make sure there are no lumps
    Simmer for about 5 minutes

    Take off heat set aside

    Meanwhile prepare seafood
    10-12 cooked prawns
    10 smoked mussels
    2 filets Frozen white fish



    Chop mussels into 3
    Cut up fish
    Remove tails from prawns

    Add to Bechamel sauce
    Add cooked Kumera



    Pour into Gratin dish
    Mix Breadcrumbs and Grated Cheese together
    Sprinkle over the top

    Bake 180C for 30 minutes
    Till bubbling and turning golden

     Dish up and devour






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