Gazpacho

Une Salade Liquide

Oh my, it is hot. It's mid-May and we are experiencing a heat wave. How hot? Well, I have been told it will reach 100 F. (38C!) today. I am positive that right now my kitchen is pushing 125 F. Now, for those of you who do not know me, I am not a hot-weather person. My idea of a dream existence is to own a lovely stone house in the south of France and live there year-round except in the summer, when I would head north. I actually don't mind rain from time to time. It's the reverse of the natural order of things, I know, but my DNA is just not programmed to sustain the heat. I have come to expect the usual summer hot spells and prepare myself accordingly - but in May? I have been caught off-guard, and suspiciously wonder if this is how things really are in northern California in May, and nobody let on so I would willingly move here.

Consequently, I am quickly adjusting and reaching early into my summer repertoire of recipes that I use in extreme heat. These recipes involve no cooking, are fresh, light, thirst and appetite quenching. A favorite of mine is a variation of gazpacho, a puréed tomato-based soup from Spain, served cold. I call it a Liquid Salad, because, if you glance at the ingredients, that is very much what it is. My version involves no puréeing, because I love the toothsome texture of the finely diced vegetables, fresh and satisfying to the bite. Their colors mingle with their natural juices in a cool soup of tomato making this a festive and refreshing dish to present - one of the few un-wilted looking items in my kitchen at the moment.. The selection of vegetables can be varied. I stray from the conventional gazpacho and add carrot for its color and sweetness and fennel bulb for its anise flavor which lends a wonderful depth to the soup. This is a perfect liquid salad for a hot (not-yet) summer day.

Gazpacho

1 quart or 1 liter tomato juice
1 organic cucumber with skin, seeded, diced
1 large red onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, diced
1 carrot, peeled, finely diced
1 fennel bulb, fronds and outer pieces removed, finely diced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Juice of one lemon and one lime
2 tablespoons olive oil
Dash of tabasco sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped
1/2 handful Italian flat leaf parsley, chopped

Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl except coriander and parsley.
Adjust seasoning to taste. Cover and chill at least one hour before serving. (Can be made up to 6 hours in advance.)
Stir in coriander and parsley before serving.