Chicken Gazpacho

“Cold soup is a very tricky thing and it is the rare hostess who can carry it off. More often than not the dinner guest is left with the impression that had he only come a little earlier he could have gotten it while it was still hot.” -Fran Lebowitz, journalist

I got acquainted with this refreshing soup for the first time when I was working with HSBC. A Latin American colleague of mine introduced me to this soup. Now at my mum's place, a soup means it has to be piping hot...or its not a soup, so I never really tried making this.

However my hub has trotted the globe quite a bit and I guess is worldly-wise (grin) and is far more adventourous than I am ...even in terms of the food he eats.(chuckle!)
I have made several versions of this gazpacho, as I don't like repeating my dishes ...unless absolutely necessary...lol.
So without much a do I made this soup today morning for breakfast...(trying to keep it slim and healthy....as long as I can) !

This classic chilled tomato soup is chock full of garden-fresh vegetables, cholesterol free, and made with very little added oil. My twist to this classic is only in adding shredded poached chicken to the otherwise garden-full bowl !


Chicken Gazpacho
Ingredients-
1/4 cup diced red-peppers
1/4 cup diced yellow pepper
1/4 cup diced carrots,slightly blanched
1/4 cup or less chopped green beans,blanched
2-3 small green chillies (adjust according to taste)
2 tbsp vinegar
1 celery stalk, chopped finely
1 stalk of spring onion, chopped
2-3 basil leaves,minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin powder
1/2 cup cooked fusilli (optional)
a dash of olive oil
4-5 cups of vegetable broth/chicken broth
1 large ripe tomato,boiled and pureed
1/4 cup tomato juice
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup shredded poached chicken (optional)


Method-

In a saucepan boil 2 cups of water and add the diced carrots and green beans, for a minute. Immediately drain them and place under cold tap water.

In a blender add the garlic, chillies,tomato puree, tomato juice,vinegar, celery, half of the red & green peppers ,half of the carrots and puree them together with the broth. ( I like my gazpacho not so thick/creamy so I added more broth.)

In a heated deep bottomed pan, add the olive oil with the chopped spring onions, basil leaves, cumin powder, remaining red & yellow peppers, blanched green beans and remaining carrots. Stir.

Finally add the puree with the broth. Season with salt and pepper. Add the shredded chicken and fusilli. Remove from heat and let cool/chill.

Serve warm/chilled (traditionally its served chilled) with croutons or cheese bruschetta.





During its long, arid summers, Andalucía cools itself down with chilled gazpacho, a hearty and pungent soup that has gained fame throughout the world for its amazing thirst-quenching quality.

Often described as a liquid salad, gazpacho descends from ancient Roman concoction based on a combination of stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar. As Romans labored to build roads and aqueducts across Spain in the scorching heat, this soup replenished them with the necessary salt and vitamins lost through physical exertion.

Later, shepherds and farmers added vegetables to make it more hearty and satisfying. Because tomatoes and bell peppers were not indigenous to Spain, these ingredients were not added to the soup until after Spain's discovery of the New World. Since that time, gazpacho has remained relatively unchanged - an unpretentious soup designed to quench the thirst evoked by the unrelenting Spanish sun.








Note: This soup can be made vegetarian/vegan by skipping the chicken and/or adding tofu/cottage cheese cubes instead.



I share this with HotM(Heart of the Matter) which is dedicated to healthy cooking and eating.

Fishy Tagliatelle with Tuna balls in Marinara sauce

“Small cheer and great welcome makes a merry feast.”

-William Shakespeare

Like many of my other blogger friends (now known and still being discovered..), I too am a self professed Italian food junkie. One Italian friend of mine,had playfully mentioned that there are three basic ingredients that are to be found in all Italian recipes--olive oil, garlic and tomatoes. I don't doubt him, but I really don't think thats' all..there is 'passion' !

Every food has its history that makes it rich and wonderful. Discovering these stories, the facts, the myths...its a joy untold for foodies. Because cooking isn't just about mixing ingredients...its magic, an alchemy of flavours...each dish prepared is a story in itself and the cook the author.


I made this Tagliatelle dish, inspired by David Rocco's La Dolce Vita ("Life is Sweet") that I had seen on T.V. one lazy afternoon while surfing channels (my favourite passtime..lol).


There are two kinds of Italian pasta--Pasta all'uovo, egg pasta such as tagliatelle, fettuccine, and whatnot and Pasta di semola di grano duro, made with semolina, water and a touch of salt.The former are flat and of varying width, while the latter comes in all sorts of shapes, from spaghetti to penne to cart wheels.
Tagliatelle are also commonly flavored with other ingredients, for example spinach, which turns them green, tomato, which turns them red, or squid ink, which turns them black. They are used for hearty fares and lasagne made with tagliatelle are just awesome.

Now a little 'interesting' something on Marinara Sauce-Marinara derives from the Italian word for sailor, marinaro. Due to these origins many people say that marinara sauce must contain something from the sea, usually anchovies. Actually this is not the case, the origins of marinara sauce are that it is the sauce that they made in Naples for the sailors when they returned from the sea.





Here's my favourite recipe for you.

Fishy Tagliatelle with Tuna balls in Marinara sauce

Ingredients-

For the Tuna balls--
1 cup flaked Tuna fish
2 tbsp parsley,chopped finely
1 tsp garlic paste
1/2 cup grated parmigiano cheese
2 small green chillies, minced
salt to taste
oil for deep frying

For the Marinara sauce--
1/4 cup of olive oil
4 cloves of garlic sliced in half
4 large ripe tomatoes, pureed
3 basil leaves, washed, patted dry and chopped
salt & pepper to taste


For the Tagliatelle--
4 rolls of tagliatelle pasta, cooked in boiling water, drained and set aside


Method-
Tuna Balls
Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and using a little water( if required), form a dough like consistency. Now make small balls out of this dough, and deep fry in cooking oil.

Marinara Sauce
Place garlic and olive oil in large sauce pan.
Turn heat to medium and cook until garlic is soft and lightly browned.
Add the tomato puree, basil, salt and pepper.

Cook for a minute or two, then add the tuna balls.
Bring to a boil, then lower heat to a simmer and cook until thickened approximately 20 to 25 minutes.

Finally, on the serving plate lay the pasta/tagliatelle and pour the marinara sauce with the tuna balls on top of this pasta.

Ready to eat!!YUM.

I bring this dish to the Seven Fishes Feast thrown together, by Joe (of Italyville) and MaryAnn(of Findind La Dolce Vita).

What is the Seven Fishes Feast? Southern Italians around the world celebrate Christmas Eve with a Feast of the Seven Fishes, also known as La Vigilia (Italian: "the vigil").
It is a meal that typically consists of seven different seafood dishes.This celebration is a commemoration of the wait, Vigilia di Natale, for the midnight birth of the baby Jesus.
It is quite paradoxically a period of abstinence for the Italians.

Why 7? There are many hypotheses for what the number "7" relates to, one being the number of Sacraments in the Roman Catholic Church. Another theory is that seven is a number representing perfection.The traditional Biblical number for divinity is three, and for Earth is four, and the combination of these numbers, seven, represents God on Earth, or Jesus Christ.




It would be worth all the effort if you enjoyed reading the post, as much as I enjoyed writing it.

I also send this to Truti (Recipe Center) for her Winter Treat Event.

This creative dish I made also goes to Lore (of Culinarty) for her Original Recipes monthly event.

I also send this to Presto Pasta Night hosted by Ruth (Once Upon A Feast)...the first one for Jan. 2009. :)