Gazpacho: A Fresh Take On An Old Favorite

Fresh Tomato Gazpacho

Ah, it's that time of year again: ripe tomatoes hang heavy on backyard vines; they stack up temptingly at farmers' markets and produce stands, and we all want to eat as many as we can before summer's bounty yields to the inexorable approach of frost.

Fresh-picked tomatoes are a wondrous thing–no need for elaborate preparations or fancy condiments, just a sprinkle of salt and they're ready to go, raw and unadulterated, like the fruits they are. But sometimes we want to do more...or folks simply have so many tomatoes on hand that something new is needed. Hence an old-time vegetarian favorite, gazpacho, is welcomed back to our late-summer tables.

This year, gazpacho at my house is different, reimagined and refined. It uses whole, fresh tomatoes: no peeling, seeding, or juicing required. I've swapped out red for green peppers–liking the sweet, rich flavor of the red–and subbed in long, English hothouse cucumber for its more watery and seedier American cousin. While this isn't an authentic Spanish recipe by any means, I've moved back toward gazpacho's Andalusian roots, reintroducing bread to give it body, and making this a mild, or only very slightly spicy, incarnation of the classic soup.

It has been said that there are as many versions of gazpacho as there are cooks, each as individual as a fingerprint. That being true, I'm sure you'll never make this one exactly (or even approximately) as I do. But it's an idea, possibly an inspiration. Think it over as you gaze upon your end-of-summer tomato harvest, and maybe it will get your ripening creative juices flowing.

Gazpacho: A Fresh Take On An Old Favorite

Anne Milton

September, 2012

2 pounds very ripe tomatoes, cored and cut in chunks
1/2 loaf French or other coarse- textured white bread, crust removed, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 small bunch cilantro, washed and stems removed
1 or 2 large garlic cloves, peeled and cut in half
1 large red bell pepper, seeded, cut in 1/4" dice
1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and cut in 1/4" dice
1/2 medium red onion, minced
2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon coarse sea salt
3/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon mild paprika
1 pinch cayenne pepper (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup sour cream, mixed with
1/2 cup slightly drained plain yogurt

1. In food processor, blend whole chopped tomatoes and their juices, bread, half the cilantro and all the garlic until completely pulverized. (You may have to work in batches, depending on your processor's capacity.)
2. Add half the pepper, half the cucumber, and half the onion, and blend in a couple of short bursts just until new veggies are finely chopped.
3. Stir in remaining vegetables, vinegar, oil, seasonings and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. If the soup is not tart enough, you may add more vinegar and/or lemon juice. If it lacks sweetnes from the tomatoes, add a tiny bit of sugar.
4. Chill at least 2 hours and up to 1 day. Serve cold, topping each serving with a generous spoonful of the sour cream mixture.

Yield: serves 4-6 as an accompaniment to a meal

This is terrific made with heirloom tomatoes. Garnish with thin cucumber slices and a sprig of cilantro, if desired.

Matzo Ball Soup

This recipe comes from my grandmother, Ruth Milton. She claimed to have found it on the Manischewitz Matzo Meal box, but it was her light touch with the batter, not to mention her nuanced skill at schmaltz- (rendered chicken fat) and soup-making that lifted it above the ordinary. We had it on all holidays and many other special occasions, and nobody tired of it, ever. I'll never forget when I was twenty, and she sat me down and taught be how to make it: I was so proud to have this wonderful tradition passed on to me! Well now, in her honor and for Passover, I'm going to teach you to make it, too. Please enjoy, and pass the recipe on to others if you can.

Matzo Ball Soup

1/4 cup rendered chicken fat*

4 eggs, beaten to blend

1 cup matzo meal

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup chicken broth or water

1 large pot simple chicken soup (click here to see recipe)

1/4 cup finely chopped parsley or dill

Anne's Simple Chicken Soup

Anne's Simple Chicken Soup

2 or more carcasses from roasted chickens, or  3/4 lb. raw chicken necks and backs

1 whole chicken, 4-6 lbs.

1 bay leaf

4 peppercorns

1 teaspoon salt

2 medium onions, 1 quartered, 1 thinly sliced

1 carrot, peeled and sliced

1 small turnip, peeled and thinly sliced

Anne's Grandmother's Russian Borscht

 My family borscht recipe ran in the Boston Globe today: handy, since this lets me reprint both the story and recipe here for you. 

One Cook's Best Dish

Adding to the family tradition

Her borscht is her own take on grandmother’s

“I’ve fiddled around with it,’’ says Anne Milton of her recipe for borscht, which she prepares about once a month in season. “As a teen, I went to visit my grandmother in St. Louis. I wanted to learn her recipes — she had the key.’’ (Michele Mcdonald for The Boston Globe)

By Jane Dornbusch Globe Correspondent / February 23, 2011

E-mail this article

To:

Invalid E-mail address

Add a personal message:(80 character limit) Your E-mail:

Invalid E-mail address

Sending your article

Your article has been sent.

CAMBRIDGE — Anne Milton’s borscht traveled a circuitous route to her cozy kitchen: it began in the present-day Ukrainian city of Odessa, went to Sedalia, Mo., then St. Louis, and, finally, to Cambridge. Along the way, it changed a bit, but it remains essentially the meaty, sweet-and-sour, beet-and-cabbage soup that warmed many a Russian winter.

“I’ve fiddled around with it,’’ admits Milton, preparing a batch of borscht on a gleaming 1950s Caloric stove that’s been in place since her great-aunt installed it in this 1892 Victorian. Milton uses agave nectar in place of sugar, and adds chopped fresh dill just before serving — touches her paternal grandmother, a Russian Jew whose family lived in Odessa and emigrated to Missouri in the early 1900s, wouldn’t have recognized.

Anne’s Ukrainian Borscht with Meat

Anne’s Ukrainian Borscht with Meat

 Anne Milton
February, 2010

In the interest of full disclosure, I'm not Ukranian—not one bit.  

My father's Russian Jewish family came over here bringing a recipe for meaty 'winter' borscht—a deep maroon, sweet-and-sour stew thick with prunes, tomatoes and cabbage—it's delicious, and maybe I'll post the recipe someday.  When I joined Boston Organics a couple years ago, I began getting relatively exotic things like celery root and parsnips along with my beets in the wintertime.  I originally found Ukranian Borscht described in a book called Cooking in the Litchfield Hills—a find-raiser for the Pratt Nature Center in New Milford, CT—so I don't know who provided the recipe.  Because the Pratt Center recipe contained many different root veggies, I started fiddling with it, adapting it to my taste and to the contents of my Boston Organics box.  Eventually, a new variant was born.  The borscht unquestionably shares DNA with the original recipe, but I have to call it mine as well, since the proportions, much of the method, and all the notes are my own.  If any actual Ukranians would like to weigh in on this subject, I'd be intrigued to hear from them!

1 1/2 to 2 lbs. beef flank steak or short ribs
, untrimmed (total meat weight excluding bone about 1 lb.)
1 1/2 quarts water

1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
1 medium carrot, scraped

1 medium celery root, peeled, 1/4 cut out for broth, remaining cut in 1/2-inch cubes

1 whole small onion, peeled, stuck with 2 cloves

4 whole allspice berries, roughly crushed
1-2 medium-large, or 3-4 small red or golden beets, without tops (don't use more, or it will overwhelm the soup.)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 tablespoon tomato paste

2 large garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 tablespoon butter

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

1 medium parsnip, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

1 medium rutabaga or 2 purple-top turnips, cut in 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup chopped cabbage (optional; use more or less to taste)


1 small potato—unpeeled, if you prefer—cut in 1/2-inch cubes (optional: use depending on quantity of other vegetables)
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon crumbled dried dill, or 1-2 teaspoons fresh, minced
1 teaspoon crushed dried parsley, or 2-3 teaspoons fresh, minced

3/4-1 cup sour cream or drained yogurt


Cauliflower Stilton Cheese Soup

 I had half a cauliflower, some cabbage and a potato left from my Boston Organics box, so I decided to try out this variation on cauliflower-cheese soup using the Huntsman cheese I got at Russo's Market in Watertown.  It's delicious: very rich and creamy, the tang of the cheese nicely balancing the sweetness of the vegetables.  Easy to prepare, too!

 Cauliflower Stilton Cheese Soup

Anne Milton
October, 2010

1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
3 cloves garlic, slivered
1 small unpeeled potato, scrubbed and cut in chunks
1 cup chicken stock (or use vegetable broth)
1 Tablespoon butter
1 large onion, diced
1 cup shredded cabbage (optional)
1-2 cups milk
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg (freshly-ground is best)
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
4 oz shredded Huntsman—Stilton and Double Gloucester—cheese (or use half Stilton and half cheddar)
Salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
2 slices cooked bacon, crumbled (optional)

Kharcho: Georgian Soup with Walnuts and Fresh Herbs

Kharcho: Georgian Soup with Walnuts and Fresh Herbs

Anne Milton

October, 2010

(Adapted from a recipe by DJ Park

via food.com January, 2002)

1 lb. boneless lean beef or lamb, cut in big chunks
1/2 Tablespoon olive oil
6 cups meat stock: beef is best, but chicken will also do
6 cloves garlic, crushed or finely minced
1 bay leaf
1 medium/large tomato or a 16 oz. can diced tomatoes

Cream of Summer Tomato Soup

 

Cream of Summer Tomato Soup

 Anne Milton
August, 2010

2 ears fresh corn, un-shucked
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon butter
3 cloves garlic, crushed (more, if you really love garlic)
4-5 lbs fresh, very ripe, whole, raw tomatoes
1 or 2 roasted red peppers, seeds and inner membranes removed, cut in chunks
3/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)