Cherry and Avocado Gaspacho

Because we cannot change everything at the same time, sometimes we need a pause to adapt the new reality and stabilize before going on with our own projects. In the last couple of months I took this pause in order to take all the small steps I needed and to feel all the reasons that made me create this blog still make sense! 

Today I would like to share a Chef José Avillez version of Gaspacho, a recipe that I had to use one of my most recent gadgets a fruit stone extractor...

You will need:

500 g pitted cherrie

7 small plum tomatoes on the vine

1 medium onion 

1 1/2 red peppers

1 small cucumber

1 large slice of rustic bread

1/2 tin of tomato juice

1 dl of sherry vinegar

6-10 ice cubes

1 avocado

lemon juice

40 g red onions

olive oil 

salt and pepper

In a large bowl, add the bread diced without the crust, the chopped tomato, the diced onion, the cucumber (peeled , sliced and without seeds), and the pepper (diced and without seeds). Add the tomato juice, olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt & pepper. Mix it well. Cover with the ice cubes and then with film and chill for 12 hours.

Cut the avocado in halves, remove the stone and peel it and put it into a bowl. Season with lemon juice, mash with a fork and add a bit of chopped red onion. Mix well, add a drizzle of olive oil and mix again. Refrigerate.

Remove the stone of the cherries, blend it well, drain and reserve. Take the gaspacho and blend it well. For each liter of gaspacho add 4 dl of cherry puree. Mix well. In the center of each dish put a little of avocado cream and add the gaspacho. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil and serve immediately with basil.

A Salad to recover from any excess...

In the northern hemisphere, January is incredibly similar to the late spring months. Despite the different reasons almost everyone is willing for more light meals or even diets...

The recipe this week is a typical example of what I've just wrote . Although we are in the middle of winter in Spain a salad was the perfect way to start recovering from the festive season that just ended and, not least important, to take a few ingredients that were about to go off...

Despite being very similar to a recipe I shared with you before, this week I bring you this salad because this is an example that salads should not be boring, totally the opposite a salad is a perfect way to work your creativity and have fun in the kitchen. Do not forget that sometimes just a small detail may transform your plate and give it a totally different personality. In this case the anchovy brougt that taste of the sea adding more rock & roll than on the previous version .

You will need ( 2 pax ) :

2 diced avocados 

2 diced tomatoes

10 diced anchovy fillets 

a bit of red onion, finely chopped

Shredded Parmesan cheese

salt and extra virgin olive oil

lemon juice

basil

In a cup make a basil vinaigrette with olive oil, lemon juice (3:1), salt and some basil leaves, and set aside.

With the help of a mould, place the diced avocado in the bottom , followed by tomatoes, finally the anchovy fillets and roughly chopped onion. Top it with the grated parmesan , season , and after little more than 5 minutes is ready !

Tomato, avocado and edible crab Salad

Today I bring you another recipe from Chef José Avillez: a great salad for hot summer days, light and fresh, to keep yourself in good shape!

You will need:

400 gr of good quality tomatoes

200 gr avocado

300 gr of cooked edible crab pincers

Basil 

salt 

pepper

salt qs

lime juice

extra virgin olive oil

With the aid of an appropriate tool remove the interior  of the edible crab pincers. Season with extra virgin olive oil, lime juice, sea salt and pepper and reserve.

Cut the tomatoes in tiny half moons, peel the avocado and cut it also into half moons.

In a dish alternate the slices of tomato with the avocado and season it with lime juice, extra virgin olive oil, salt & pepper. Add the edible crab and cover with some basil leaves. 

Serve it immediately!

Gazpacho!

It may seem incredible but it took me five years living in Spain to prepare my first Gazpacho... Perhaps because it is almost 11 o'clock in the evening and there are still 30 degrees outside...

You will need (for 4 people):

6 ripe tomatoes

40 g of peeled cucumber

50 g red pepper clean

1/2 slice of bread

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

70 ml of olive oil

2 tablespoons vinegar

1/2 peeled onion

2 cloves of garlic

Crouton

salt and pepper to taste

100 ml water

Peel the garlic, removing the germ (inner part) and clarify three times starting always with cold water. Mince the onion, cucumber, red pepper, tomatoes, bread, garlic and water. Add olive oil, vinegar and mayonnaise. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Mix well and store in refrigerator.

Serve as a cold soup with croutons, or as starter in a shot glass...

Bikini Operation...

This year, spring is particularly shy... either hides behind a typical summer day or immediately calls the winter again. Nevertheless we are now in the middle of  bikini operation season, so if you ran out of ingredients dor your salad just go to your kitchen garden and grab some...