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"A gourmet who thinks of calories is like a tart who looks at her watch." - James Beard


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Thursday, August 29, 2013

White Gazpacho (With Grapes)


I've never made traditional gazpacho before - "tomato soup served ice cold". But that didn't stop me from attempting a white gazpacho, made with grapes.  I'm not going to say this dish was a rousing success, but it was a good way to make use of grapes, and it tasted interesting.  



Matt came home from the farmers market with these beautiful Niagara grapes.  They were a little sour to eat as a snack, so I thought I'd make something out of them.  I found this recipe for Spanish white gazpacho and tweaked it a bit.  

Here's what you need:




1 pound seedless green grapes
1/4 cup pine nuts (or blanched almonds)
1 garlic cloves
3 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons good-quality sherry vinegar
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lime juice
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 English cucumber
3 tablespoons good quality extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons for finishing


Since we have a nut allergy in the house, I substituted pine nuts for the more traditional almonds.  I can't imagine it would make much difference, since the textures are so similar.  

Stemming the grapes was the hardest part.  These are green coronation grapes and the stems were very brittle.  I had to pick a lot of little stem bits off the grapes.



After that, easy as pie.  Chop the cucumber and add it to a blender with the rest of the ingredients.



You may need to work in batches if your blender gets too full.  Purée the mixture until it comes together but still has some texture.  



Chill for at least an hour before serving, drizzled with a touch of olive oil.  

I served this in tiny, appetizer portions.  It was definitely unusual, but tasted green and fresh.  

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