a no-recipe recipe

Posted by marne on August 5, 2011 in cook | 2 comments

I am not a fan of summer heat, but I am happy to tolerate it when I can enjoy summer produce! Yesterday was one of those days when I didn't get home until 8 pm. I was hungry and tired, but not so hungry that I wanted a regular meal. Sometimes that means berries and cream, but I didn't want anything sweet, so I whipped up this little concoction and it was just perfect.

I've looked up gazpacho recipes before, and they always seem to have a long list of ingredients, or they make a really big batch, so I don't often bother. I don't know why I thought I had to follow the rules, so last night I didn't. I just rummaged around and threw what looked appealing in the beaker that came with my immersion blender, and whipped it up. 

Here's what I used:

A small, Persian cucumber, coarsely chopped
A couple Roma tomatoes, coarsely chopped
A clove of garlic, crushed
A dash of each of the following: cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, parsley, and ancho chili pepper 
A glug of olive oil

I blended it all together and then topped it with a small, chopped avocado, a drizzle of olive oil, and a little ground pepper. Perfect! The only thing I would do differently next time is to keep some of the cucumber and tomato seperate, chopped them finely and stir them in at the end for a little more texture. Bell peppers (any color), radishes and celery would probably be nice additions if you like them. 

Lesson learned: don't worry about finding the perfect recipe, if you've got good produce, there's a good chance you'll end up with something delicious.