Glorious Gazpachos

A cocktail of gazpachos

 

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For me gazpacho is summer in a glass and I make my Go To Tomato Gazpacho time and time again through the summer when tomatoes are sweet and juicy sometimes with yellow tomatoes to create a sunshine golden version and sometimes with red to be classic.  Gazpacho is a liquid salad so I am never very precise with quantities and adding bread is a personal preference – I like to as i like the creamier emulsified texture. I adore the very creamy Spanish “Salmorejo” which is a red tomato gazpacho with a higher amount of bread in it.  As the method is really only about blending its really all about the sweetest ripest ingredients and thats why going to the market yields the best results. Somehow the little cucumbers are sweeter, the onions stronger and the tomatoes richer in flavour.  Here you have a trio of new gazpacho recipes to try:

Avocado & Cucumber Gazpacho

Watermelon Gazpacho

Beetroot Gazpacho 

 

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Pissaladière

Nothing says apero like a small square of this tangy tart from the South of France

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Shhhh! dont tell anybody but if you have a jar or two of Onion & Beer Confit handy and some very buttery pastry then this is a five minute assembly job.  With a bit of planning this is how “Slow Food” can be “Fast Food” 😉 and how you can be a kitchen star with ease!  Traditionally this is made with bread and indeed made with a pizza dough it is also sublime but must be eaten on the spot…generally not a problem. 

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Marketing – fruits of summer

I have been going to the food markets of Bucharest as long as I have known the city and Matache is one of my favourites – I dont know why but it always seems a little bit more friendly than others.  

7 aug matache market

Bit by bit the authorities have chopped parts of it down and demolished other bits but it refuses to give up. The “Hala Mare” (Large Hall) is what remains and it is pretty large – here you can buy authentic veggies and produce from just as authentic sellers – which is half the fun. I love picking up local bottled horseradish (always super strong), beetroot, hot peppers and the amazing dried herbs and teas.  But most of all I like chatting to the stallholders about their produce that looks all uneven and a bit muddy but taste divine – just like real food should. 

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