Gazpacho Verde

Name: Gazpacho Verde
Total time: 165 min
Ingredients: 1 cup dried blueberries (4 ounces); 1 tablespoon sugar (plus 1 teaspoon); 2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar; 1 pound green melon (3 cups ripe, such as honeydew, peeled and cut into -inch pieces); 4 Persian cucumbers (peeled, seeded and chopped); 2 Hass avocados (1 ounces peeled, pitted and chopped); 0.5 teaspoon fresh lemon juice; 0.5 cup crème fraîche; Kosher salt; 0.5 cup extra-virgin olive oil (mild, fruity, or grapeseed oil, chilled); 1 cup fennel fronds ( ounce, packed anise hyssop or lemon balm); 1 fennel bulb (small inner core only, halved and very thinly sliced lengthwise); 1 Persian cucumber (peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise on the diagonal); 0.5 teaspoon Champagne vinegar; 1 pinch of sugar; 1 pinch of kosher salt; Fennel pollen and mint or anise hyssop flowers (for garnish)

Be the first to rate & review!

Chef Carlos Salgado makes his gazpacho with sweet melons, cucumbers and avocados, and tops it with crisp and chewy oven-dried macerated blueberries. Slideshow: More Gazpacho Recipes

By Carlos Salgaldo

Updated on July 1, 2015

Active Time:

40 mins

Total Time:

2 hrs 45 mins

Yield:

4 to 6

Ingredients

Blueberries

1 cup dried blueberries (4 ounces)
1 tablespoon sugar (plus 1 teaspoon)
2 teaspoons Champagne vinegar

Soup

1 pound green melon (3 cups ripe, such as honeydew, peeled and cut into -inch pieces)
4 Persian cucumbers (peeled, seeded and chopped)
2 Hass avocados (1 ounces peeled, pitted and chopped)
½ teaspoon fresh lemon juice
½ cup crème fraîche
Kosher salt

Sweet Herb Oil

½ cup extra-virgin olive oil (mild, fruity, or grapeseed oil, chilled)
1 cup fennel fronds ( ounce, packed anise hyssop or lemon balm)

Garnish

1 fennel bulb (small inner core only, halved and very thinly sliced lengthwise)
1 Persian cucumber (peeled, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise on the diagonal)
½ teaspoon Champagne vinegar
1 pinch of sugar
1 pinch of kosher salt
Fennel pollen and mint or anise hyssop flowers (for garnish)

Directions

Make the blueberries

In a medium bowl, mix the blueberries with the sugar and vinegar. Let macerate at room temperature for 1 hour, stirring occasionally.
Preheat the oven to 200°. Spread the blueberries on a parchment paper–lined baking sheet and bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened but still moist. Let cool.

Meanwhile, make the soup

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients, season with salt and puree until smooth. Strain the soup through a fine sieve into a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate for about 2 hours, until cold.

Make the sweet herb oil

In a blender, combine the oil and herbs and puree until smooth. In a sieve set over a small bowl, strain the oil through a coffee filter or a double layer of cheesecloth.

Make the garnish

In a medium bowl, toss the fennel and cucumber with the vinegar, sugar and salt. Let stand for 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of the sweet herb oil; toss to coat.
Divide the blueberries into bowls and top with the fennel-cucumber garnish. Pour the soup around the bowl. Drizzle with some of the remaining sweet herb oil, top with fennel pollen and mint or anise hyssop flowers and serve.

Make Ahead

The soup and sweet herb oil can be refrigerated separately overnight.