Spanish-Style Gazpacho

The restaurant
Ecos Del Mundo — Mexico City

The dish
Gazpacho

The experience
On our last day in Mexico City, I was desperate for a vegetable-forward meal. In fact, I was craving gazpacho but I doubted I'd manage to satisfy that particular craving. Mostly out of curiosity, I peered at the menu of an organic restaurant, one block from the main plaza in Coyoacán. Lo and behold, gazpacho! I ordered one bowl then a second. The waiter thought this was a bit strange, but I didn't care. It was easily the best gazpacho I'd had outside of Spain.

Notes
The secret to good gazpacho: ripe tomatoes and high-quality ingredients. You can add honey if your tomatoes aren't ripe enough, but ideally you want to start with tomatoes that are truly ripe. The quality of the olive oil makes a big difference, so splurge if you can. I use California Olive Ranch EVOO, which I found on sale for $6.50.

I've made countless versions of gazpacho, tweaking the recipe a little each time. The recipe below draws on this Serious Eats technique, but I've changed the proportions and ingredients significantly.

Ingredients
3 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into chunks
1 sweet pepper (such as a cubanelle, Anaheim or Hungarian), cored, seeded and cut into chunks
1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, peeled, seeded and cut into chunks
1/2 small white or red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
1 clove garlic
2 teaspoons sherry or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons salt
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions
Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic and salt in a large bowl and toss to coat. Let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Transfer vegetables to the freezer until vegetables are frozen, about 30 minutes.

Remove vegetables from freezer and allow to sit at room temperature until mostly thawed, about 30 minutes.

Blend vegetables at high speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. With the motor running, slowly add olive oil and vinegar. Strain soup through a fine mesh strainer.

Chill for at least 6 hours.

Taste before serving and add more salt or vinegar if needed. Drizzle each bowl with olive oil.

Butternut Squash and Apple Cider Soup

The restaurant
Hungry Mother – Cambridge, MA

The dish
Butternut squash and apple cider soup

The experience
I was so sad to learn that Hungry Mother closed this summer. The Cambridge restaurant, known for its southern cuisine and slow food ethos, was one of my favorite places to eat in the Boston area. The first time I went I didn't have a lot of money. All I could afford was a side of collard greens and a soup — butternut squash and apple cider. That soup blew my mind. They never had it on the menu again and I've yet to find another butternut squash soup I enjoy as much as that one.

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, seeded and cubed (about 6 cups)
3/4 cup onion, minced (leeks or shallot also works here)
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons shortening (olive oil, ghee, butter, coconut oil — chose the flavor you prefer)
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups apple cider
1/2 cup sour cream
1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced
Salt

Directions
Peel and cube butternut squash and mince onion.

Heat shortening in a large heavy saucepan, add the onion and sauté over high heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook for 10-12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onion is soft but not burnt.

Add garlic and cook for 1-2 more minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic.

Add squash and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until the squash is soft, about 20 minutes.

Pour mixture into a blender and blend until smooth. Add sour cream and apple cider and blend until combined. Taste and add salt if necessary.

Garnish with apple.

Serves four.