Gazpacho, Version #2

Fresh vegetables, summertime, yada, yada, yada, it’s all I talk about, I know. And I know I just did gazpacho, but seriously how can I possibly get sick of it this time of year? But I think that everyone is on the same page as me with this!

Gazpacho with Cilantro and Avocado Cream

Gazpacho with Avocado Cream

• 8 tomatillos, halved
• 5 medium sized tomatoes, rough chopped, set in a colander to drain for about 20 minutes
• 2 green peppers, rough chopped
• 3 jalapenos (remove seeds and ribs if you prefer less spice), chopped
• 1 small red onion, rough chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeds scraped out, rough chopped
• 1/2 cup cilantro, stems picked out
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Avocado Cream, recipe below

In a large bowl, combine tomatillos, tomatoes, green peppers, jalapenos, onion, garlic, and cucumber. Mix all up so evenly distributed.  Add half of veggie mixture to food processor.  Process until somewhat smooth and frothy. Add 1/2 of the cilantro, 1/2 of lime juice, 1/2 of vinegar, and half of olive oil.  Season.  Transfer to serving bowl, and put all remaining ingredients (except Avocado Cream) into processor and process until smooth-ish and frothy. Combine with other gazpacho.  Chill at least 20 minutes.  Serve in bowls with a big dollop of avocado cream and a few sprigs of cilantro.

Avocado Cream

• 1 avocado, removed from skin, pit removed
• 2 heaping tablespoons sour cream
• juice of 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons cilantro
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

Mix avocado, sour cream, lime juice, and cilantro in food processor.  Slowly pour in olive oil. Season with just a bit of salt and pepper.

Advertisement

Seared Tuna with Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

I just love summer produce.  It’s so nice to have most meals’ focus be fresh veggies from the farmer’s market or our garden, like this tuna dish. The potatoes, tomatillos, jalapeno, corn, and onion all came from either our backyard or from another local farmer.  And, with using produce that is perfectly ripe and in season, the beauty is that you don’t have to do much with it to make it fabulous.  It pretty much speaks for itself.

Seared Tuna, Spicy Potatoes, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Seared Tuna with Spiced Potatoes and Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Serves 2

• 2 portions of fresh tuna
• about 3/4 pound of small potatoes – red, fingerling, etc; cut into 1/4 inch slices
• 1 teaspoon ground red pepper (or some other spice with some heat that you like to use)
• About 12 tomatillos, husks removed, cut into quarters
• 1/2 red onion, chopped
• 3 jalapenos, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
• 2 ears corn, shucked, and kernels cut from cob
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• juice of 1 lime

On a roasting pan, combine tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, and corn. Drizzle with  some olive oil – maybe 1 to 2 tablespoons – and season with salt and pepper. Roast in a 400 degree oven for about 6 minutes.  Stir and let roast for another 5-6 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 1o minutes.

At this point, put roasted veggies in a bowl and add cumin and lime.  Stir and taste to see if needs any more salt or pepper.  (I think some chopped fresh cilantro at this point would be a perfect addition, but I did not have any at home. Boo.)

Meanwhile, in another roasting pan, mix sliced potatoes with 1 – 2 tablespoons olive oil, salt and pepper, and the ground red pepper.  Roast about 10 minutes and the give potatoes a stir.  Let roast another 5 – 8 minutes or until tender.

Once salsa and potatoes are ready, cook fish. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Heat a saute pan over medium high heat. Once pan is hot, add about 2 tablespoons olive oil. Once olive oil is hot, add tuna.  Let tuna sear on one about 2-3 minutes.  If you are ready to turn tuna and its sticking, give it just a second more.  When it has properly “seared”, it will release itself from the pan. Flip and sear on other side for another 2 minutes.  At this point – about 5 ish minutes – your tuna will be at medium rare.  Remove from heat and let rest a couple minutes.

Place potatoes on place and top with tuna. I like to cut my tuna on the diagonal to show off its pretty colors of seared brown outside and pink rare inside, but of course cutting it is not requred.  Top with a couple spoonfuls of salsa, and you are good to go.