Gwen's Nest

Recipes, remedies, and reflections from my neck of the woods.

White Gazpacho Recipe

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It is so stinkin’ hot here.  This White Gazpacho recipe is the only thing that sounded edible for lunch, so I whipped up a batch, and basked in the creamy, chilled cucumber goodness.  I am not usually a fan of cold soups…tomato based gazpacho soups somehow feel like eating blended salsa to me.  Without the corn chips.  Which is a rip off.But this one is in a class by itself.  It’s perfect.

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My Mom was given this recipe by a family friend (Hi Miss Jere!), and pretty much everyone who tastes it loves it.  Including my two year old.

If you’re working on gettin trim & healthy, then you too can enjoy this soup as either a lovely S or FP lunch option.

You’ll need:

Several cucumbers, diced into chunks; regular or ff chicken broth; sour cream or 0% yogurt; shallots (or you can sub scallions); fresh garlic; parsley (fresh or dried); salt; tomatoes; and slivered almonds and white vinegar (not pictured-oops!).

The onion and garlic give a great kick to it, but the flavors mellow out after a couple of days in the fridge.  Oh, and this is a good time to say that the kick of the garlic and onion will be tamed a lot by using full fat sour cream.  If you go with a lite version, then cut way back, as it’s going to be pretty spicy.

Since everything in the soup is raw, it would be a great home remedy for summer colds or illness.  You can’t beat the healthy one-two punch of fresh garlic and onions!

Oh, and this makes a large batch.  It yields between 11 and 12 cups, and will keep for a week in the fridge.
I had all of this stuff on hand already, so I didn’t even have to drag the troops to the store.  Yay!

Peel your cucumbers, and dice into chunks.  I cut in half lengthwise, and then turn and cut again…then just cut ‘slices’ and you’ve got nice chunks ready to go.  I used about 4-5 medium sized cucumbers, or 3 large ones.  Put them into a large bowl.Next time, I’m going to use a large stock pot with a pouring spout to make it easier to pour into the jars.  Also, the higher sides make for fewer spatters.

Next, pour in 3 cups of chicken broth, 2-3 shallots and a few cloves of garlic, a 24 oz. tub of sour cream, 3 T. of vinegar, a handful of dried parsley (1/4 cup of dried or a half cup of fresh) and 1 1 /2 t of coarse salt, such as sea salt or kosher salt.Blend it all together with a stick blender.  If you don’t have an immersion blender, you may put a cup of broth and the cucumbers, garlic, parsley and shallots into a regular blender.  Blend until smooth and then stir into the rest of the ingredients.  If you have to work in batches, then mix the batches together to blend and balance the flavors.

But you should really, really look into getting an immersion blender if you enjoy cooking.  I use my immersion blender all the time…it’s similar to this Cuisinart SmartStick Immersion Hand Blender.  You can blend and mix things right in the pot, and blend mayo and other difficult tasks with ease.

I even used it to make smoothies when my ‘real’ blender was in the shop.  Salsa, baby food (right in the pot!), salad dressing…I love, love, love it.  But then, I have a weird affinity for kitchen appliances.

OK, so we’re blending….this really takes just a minute or so.  I sort of move it around and smush the blades into the cucumbers until everything is evenly blended and there are only tiny chunklets.


Perfect!
Now, at this point, taste it and see if you need to adjust any flavors, add salt, etc.

So, the soup is done, and now you get to choose your toppings.  Garden fresh tomatoes, diced small, are delicious, or finely slivered sun dried tomatoes curl my toes…and slivered almonds add a nice crunch.  Toasting the almonds is even tastier!

Oh, my.  This is so yummy.

This is perfect lunch for a hot summer day.  In fact, this will be my lunch all week long!  It also makes a wonderful first course, especially if you’re dining outdoors.  I can also see ta small bowl of this savory soup being served at a ladies’ luncheon or tea party.

I’m going to try something a little different based on an idea from my friend Denise.  Y’all tell me what you think: She puts her recipes on a printable 4×6 recipe card and has them printed as photos, and keeps them in the little 4×6 photo albums.  The plastic sleeves keep them from getting grungy.  They’re easy to share that way too!

White Gazpacho Recipe Printable

White Gazpacho Recipe
 
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This lovely summer soup is just amazingly flavorful and perfect for a light lunch, or as the start to a summer tea party.
Author:
Recipe type: Main Dish
Serves: 12
Ingredients
  • 4-5 medium (or 3 large) cucumbers, peeled and cut in chunks
  • 3 c. chicken broth
  • 3 T. white vinegar
  • 3 c. (24 oz. tub) sour cream* or
  • 1 to 1½ t. sea salt
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • ½ c. chopped shallots or scallions
  • ½ c. fresh parsley chopped (or ¼ cup dried)
Toppings:
  • Slivered almonds
  • 2 to 3 fresh tomatoes diced small
  • or 2-3 sun dried tomatoes cut into small slivers with scissors.
Instructions
  1. Combine cucumbers, broth, vinegar, sour cream, salt, garlic, scallions and parsley in a large pot with pouring spout or a gallon glass jar.
  2. Blend with an immersion blender until only small chunks remain. Or you may use a traditional blender, stirring together the ingredients above and processing in batches.
  3. Pour into an airtight serving container. I like to store it in large glass jars.
  4. Chill.
  5. Serve chilled, and top with slivered almonds and diced tomatoes.
Notes
* The fat in the sour cream tempers the spiciness of the shallots and garlic. You can use lower fat, or lite sour cream, but you may want to use powdered onion/garlic or cut back on the onion and garlic.
For my Trim & Healthy readers: make your soup a Fuel Pull by using 0% Greek Yogurt & fat free chicken broth, and go light on the almond slivers. Or go S style with full fat or light sour cream and chicken broth. https://gwens-nest.com/family-favorite-recipes/white-gazpacho-recipe
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 *full disclosure: all Amazon links are through my affiliate account.

Are you a cold soup person?  What’s your favorite pick for lunch on a really hot afternoon?  I need to know these things.

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