Cucumber Gazpacho

How about a short and sweet little ditty on Cucumber Gazpacho? Cukes are everywhere in the Farmers Market right now, and we just had a little impromptu Food Night last night, so… circumstances seem ripe for such a ditty.


I recently had some cucumber gazpacho at Heartland, and of course subsequently had discussions with the gents there about how exactly they made it. The following is how Food Night made* it, which much thanks to Dan, Chad and Aaron at Heartland for their knowledge (** fist bump **).

*What follows is the recipe exactly how Food Night made it. Included “optional” ingredients are highly encouraged, but shouldn’t prevent you from buzzing up a batch of this stuff if you don’t want/have/need/like any of these ingredients.


Cucumber Gazpacho
24ish ounces cucumber (used; pickling cucumber), roughly chopped
1T creme fraiche
2T fresh dill
2T fresh parsley (blanched for 5-10 seconds, shocked in an ice bath)
1T fresh cilantro (blanched, shocked)
Juice from 1 lemon
Splash white wine vinegar
4 ice cubes
salt

Optional (but highly encouraged) Ingredients
6 raw almonds
1/2t smoked paprika
1/2t ground coriander seed
Pinch ground caraway seed
4T dry white wine

Garnish (again, obviously optional but highly encouraged)
Tomato
Maldon salt
Fresh dill and chive
Diced poblano chile
Crème fraiche thinned slightly with a spash of water


1). Combine all ingredients in a blender. (I usually salt each cucumber as I put it in the blender to help track approximately how much salt to add. It's easier to salt "a" cucumber, rather than a pile of them, right?)


2). Puree to desired consistency.

3). Check for seasoning, adding salt/acid as necessary.

4). Serve, with garnish.

So yeah, basically gather ingredients. Put ingredients in blender. Turn blender on. Consume*.

*With a glass of Calera Rose.......................... but you knew that already.