If you're looking for a break from summer salads this time of year, change things up with a fresh, flavorful, vegetable-laden soup. And make it a cold one.
August is primetime for light, chilled soups that celebrate just-off-the-vine ingredients such as tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers -- and tomatillos. Yes, tomatillos, the small, round, green fruits that grow inside husks that resemble tiny lanterns. Once their papery lanterns -- or husks -- are removed, they look like little green or greenish-yellow tomatoes. While they aren't tomatoes, when fully ripe they taste a bit like a tangy tomato, with lemon and green apple notes. You find them most often in Mexican markets -- tomate verde -- or in Mexican-style green sauces and salsas.
Tomatillos might seem foreign to some, but they could be plentiful in Mid-Missouri gardens. They are easy to grow and will reseed in the garden if a few are allowed to fall on the ground at the end of the season. Generally, if the season is warm, they reach maturity a little later than tomatoes. Depending on the weather, from August through October the fruits are fully ripe when they break through the lanterns, though they can be eaten before then. Area farmer Eric Reuter said he planted some this year and plans to sell some at the Columbia Farmers Market in the coming weeks; they also are available in Mexican markets and the produce aisles in area grocery stores.
They also are easily frozen for later. You can boil them for a few minutes until they are soft, drain the water, puree them and freeze them for winter soups or tasty tomatillo enchiladas. Meantime, make a beautiful celadon-colored tomatillo gazpacho -- sans tomatoes. We'll talk tomatoes in a minute, but this tomatillo gazpacho hits all the right notes. The sweet shrimp, combined with salty olives, are perfect in the cool tomatillo, pepper and avocado puree. For the health-conscious, this is a low-calorie, high-potassium, heart-healthy soup. If you don't have tomatillos, there are other ways to modify a gazpacho. One way is to add a little smokiness by grilling some of the vegetables. You can use leftover grilled vegetables in the gazpacho, or start with a fresh combination of bell peppers, onion and fennel bulb. The Grilled Gazpacho serves eight to 10, so make it for company or plan to eat gazpacho for a couple of days. I wouldn't store it much longer; the fresh summer flavors are what we love about gazpacho. Also, while some gazpachos call for tomato juice, try substituting a vegetable juice such as V-8 or Spicy V-8 to boost flavor. Cucumber-based soups are great summer coolers. The burpless, English and lemon varieties go well in yogurt soups. Sweet Spanish smoked paprika brings boldness to a chilled cucumber soup with shrimp.
This soup can be served after it cools or allowed to mellow over a day or two. Add more wonderful shrimp flavor and keep the shrimp moist by shelling the raw shrimp first, making a stock from the shells, straining the stock from the shells and then poaching the shrimp very briefly in the stock -- until they're just turning pink throughout. Various vinegars can work to build the depth and character of a soup. Sherry vinegar will add a complexity to the grilled gazpacho, and rice wine vinegar can mellow any bitterness in cucumber soup. All of these soups could serve as a meal. But if it were up to me, I'd serve them with quesadillas made on the grill with some jack cheese and strips of freshly roasted poblano chiles. Add one glass of very cold fume blanc or pinot grigio, and August seems pretty cool. GRILLED VEGETABLE GAZPACHO 2 red bell peppers 1 extra large yellow or purple onion 1 big fennel bulb, or 2 small bulbs Extra virgin olive oil for brushing and serving 1 English cucumber 3 large ripe tomatoes 2 cloves of garlic, minced Kosher salt 7 tablespoons sherry vinegar 4 cups good-quality tomato juice or vegetable juice such as V-8 10 ice cubes 2 dashes hot pepper sauce 1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, minced 3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
Toasted garlic croutons (see recipe) Prepare a charcoal or gas grill for direct heat cooking over medium heat. While grill heats, trim and discard the top of the fennel, parboil for a couple of minutes, so it will grill at the same rate as other vegetables. Remove and set aside. Cut each bell pepper lengthwise into 2-inch-wide pieces and remove and discard the stems and steeds. Cut the onion crosswise into slices 1/2-inch thick. Cut fennel bulb into 1/2-inch strips. Brush the cut vegetables with olive oil and cook directly over the grill heat, or better yet, in a grill wok over the heat. Cook, turning occasionally until vegetables are softened and grill marked, about 10 minutes. Transfer to cutting board to cool. Core tomatoes and cut them in half-crosswise. Seed them with your index finger over a bowl to collect juice. Cut the tomato into 1/4-inch dice and add them to the bowl with the vegetable mixture. Stir in the garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and the vinegar and let stand for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, strain seeds from the tomato juice and transfer the liquid to the vegetable mixture. Add the V-8 or tomato juice ice cubes and pepper sauce and stir to blend. Cover and refrigerate from four to eight hours. When ready to serve, stir in the parsley and basil mixture. Adjust seasoning. Ladle the soup into chilled bowls and garnish each serving with olive oil and a few croutons.
Servings: 8 to 10 Adapted from "New Flavors for Soups," Williams-Sonoma, 2009 TOASTED GARLIC CROUTONS 3 tablespoons olive oil 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1/2 loaf French or Italian bread cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 4 cups) In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently until light golden brown, about five minutes. Raise the heat to medium and add the bread cubes. Stir to coat well. Cook, stirring often, until croutons are crisp, 10 to 12 minutes. Note: If you don't have French bread, simply cut sandwich bread into cubes. Makes: 4 cups. TOMATILLO GAZPACHO 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1 English cucumber, halved lengthwise and seeded 1 avocado, halved and pitted 1 pound tomatillos (see tip), husks removed, chopped 1 green or yellow bell pepper, chopped 1 to 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped 1 15-ounce can reduced-sodium chicken broth or vegetable broth 1 teaspoon sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 12 ounces cooked and peeled shrimp, chopped 1/4 cup green olives, chopped 2 scallions, sliced Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until just beginning to brown, one to two minutes. Remove from the heat.
Coarsely chop half the cucumber and half the avocado and place in a food processor. Add tomatillos, bell pepper, jalapeno to taste and the garlic. Process until smooth. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in broth, sugar and salt. Dice the remaining cucumber and avocado and place in a medium bowl. Add shrimp, olives and scallions. Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil; gently toss to combine. Ladle the gazpacho into bowls and top each portion with about 3/4 cup of the shrimp salad. Notes: Make this meatless by substituting feta cheese for the shrimp. Serve with cheese quesadillas. Tip: Tomatillos are tart, plum-size green fruits that look like small, husk-covered green tomatoes. Find them in the produce section near the tomatoes. Remove outer husks and rinse well before using. Make ahead tip: Cover and refrigerate the gazpacho and the shrimp salad in separate bowls for as long as two hours. Nutrition information: Per serving: 329 calories; 19 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 12 grams monosaturated); 174 milligrams cholesterol; 18 grams carbohydrate; 26 grams protein; 7 grams fiber; 597 milligrams sodium; 962 milligrams potassium. Servings: 4 Adapted from "Eating Well" Magazine, July/August 2008 CHILLED CUCUMBER SOUP WITH SHRIMP
1 cucumber, peeled, diced and seeded 1-2/3 cups fish bouillon, chilled 2/3 cups V-8 juice or tomato juice 1-1/3 cups plain yogurt 4-1/2 ounces peeled and cooked shrimp, chopped roughly Few drops of Tabasco sauce 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar 1 tablespoon fresh mint salt and pepper to taste ice cubes 1/2 teaspoon sweet smoked paprika (optional) Garnish: whole peeled shrimp, cucumber slices, sprigs of mint Place the diced cucumber in a food processor or blender and pulse for a few seconds until smooth. Transfer the cucumber to a bowl. Stir in the bouillon, tomato or V-8 juice, Yogurt and shrimp. Mix well. Add the Tobasco sauce, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and stir in chopped mint. Cover and chill for at least 2 hours. Ladle the soup into bowls add ice cubes if desired. Garnish with mint, cucumber and whole shrimp. Note: I used a half of an English cucumber and some lemon cucumbers from my garden. Alternative tips: Instead of shrimp add white crab meat or chicken breast. For a vegetarian version, omit the shrimp and add 1/3 cup diced cucumber and use vegetable broth instead of fish bouillon. Nutrition information: 83 calories per serving; Sugars 7 grams sugar; 12 grams protein; 7 grams carbohydrate; .3 grams saturated fat Servings: 4 Adapted from "Cook's Library Soups," Parragon, 2003
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