A few months back Pierre and I visited this Spanish restaurant in Toronto called “Embrujo Flamenco”. I had always been intrigued by it so we finally gave it a try. The place was far beyond my expectations, all the food was delicious and the ambiance was fantastic. But the little gem that caught my attention the most was this incredibly delicious Watermelon Gazpacho. I have to admit, when I read it in the menu my first reaction was “EW”. But mainly because the idea of cold tomato soup seemed like an aberration to me and then combined with watermelon even worse. However this restaurant proved me wrong and I loved it. It came in a small glass; it was smooth, bright red, refreshing and with this extremely delicious olive oil splashed on top. After what can only be described as a bull fight in my mouth I decided to give it a try a few weeks ago and prepare my own.
Ingredients
7-10 medium sized tomatoes
2 cups of watermelon, peeled and without seeds
1 small green pepper (or half a big one really)
2 garlic cloves
½ a small onion, peeled
Worcestershire sauce
Extra virgin olive oil (Preferably Spanish)
Salt and pepper
How to make it
You should start by putting 7 tomatoes in the blender along with the green pepper, the onion and the garlic cloves. I suggest cubing the tomatoes and the pepper before putting it in the blender so that the juices provide liquid and everything blends easier. Blend the mixture well and then pass the mixture through a fine strainer and put it back in the blender along with the watermelon, a dash of Worcestershire sauce, 2 tablespoons of olive oil and some salt and pepper. Blend the mixture again and of course, try it. After this point it’s all up to you and your palate. You may want to add more tomatoes, more watermelon or anything else. I found that my gazpacho was tasting too much like watermelon and did not have enough of a kick so I added another tomato and a bit more Worcestershire sauce and blended it again and that did the trick. Just remember to strain the mix again if you add more tomatoes so that it does not get chunky. Chill the gazpacho for a couple hours in the fridge and serve it in small glasses, martini or wine glasses. Once in the glass decorate with a nice splash of olive oil and enjoy.
Olive oil is a staple on every kitchen, we all know how delicious and nutritious it is. But the differences among the brands of olive oil available are gigantic. For my experiment I used Moli d’Oli which is incredibly good oil from olives cultivated in the Priorat county of Catalonia, Spain. Now, this oil brand will be difficult to find in North America and it is also about $25 CAD for half a litre so you may not want to go that crazy with your oil. The Priorat county is an origin denomination so if you find oil from this region you can almost be sure you struck gold. In general it is important to use good quality oil with a strong almost bitter flavour; otherwise it will be as using regular vegetable oil on your recipes. I tend to like Spanish oil the best, Italian and Greek oils are easier to find but they tend to have a very mild taste that gets lost when combined with other things. There are a couple Spanish brands that are good quality, budget friendly and widely available in Canada and the US. These two brands are Ybarra (now known as Y ) and Carbonell. Please always go with “Extra Virgin” as the difference it makes is gigantic. So go nuts, test oils and... DIG IN !
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