Photo by my friend, Jennifer Haas
Cool, Easy, Exotic: Moroccan Gazpacho
by Victoria Challancin
As I was scrolling through the lovely Kristen's Raw blog one day, I was instantly grabbed by her title: Moroccan Gazpacho...You have to try this! Well, I certainly did have to try it. I mean, gazpacho and Moroccan flavors all rolled into one? Why hadn't I thought of this before?
We know that I am not on a raw diet, but we also know that I am a true Moroccophile and lead groups there each year. So an easy recipe using favorite spices with Moroccan flavor principles and lovely fresh local produce is just made for me. Made for me, perhaps, but not for all of my Mexico cooks, with whom I prepared this one day in class. One of my favorite students and an accomplished cook, Elvie, wrinkled her nose and pronounced it "strange." Not for me--for my taste this is a perfect recipe and an exotic interpretation of a beloved stand-by recipe.
My friend, Jennifer, happily snapped these photos while I was teaching class. Thank you, Jennifer.
Photo by Jennifer Haas
Cook's Notes: I kept the ingredients the same, but wrote up the instructions in my own way. I also toasted the pine nuts and recommend toasting whole spices and grinding them unless your spices are just really fresh! Honey could be substituted for the agave nectar and regular sea salt for the Himalayan, though I used the ingredients as Kristen gave them. Thank you, Kristen, for this new addition to my recipe file.
Recipe: Moroccan Gazpacho
(Recipe by Kristen, of Kristen's Raw blog)
For the gazpacho:
1 cup water
4 tomatoes, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon Himalayan crystal salt
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground coriander seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
For garnish:
1 chopped, seeded tomato
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins
Blend all of the ingredients for the soup in a blender. Pulse in the cilantro until roughly chopped. Serve chilled, garnished with the diced tomato, pine nuts, and raisins.
Enjoy!
Parting Shot: Moroccan Heads
©Victoria Challancin. All Rights Reserved.
Of course recipes are meant to be shared, but please ask permission before using text or photos. Thanks!
10 comments:
I never thought of it either -- or adapting gazpacho to any other cuisine but it makes sense and this recipe looks very good.
I can just imagine how delicious this is with all those incredible Moroccan flavours. Beautifully presented dish too Victoria with all those colours. I think this would be very refreshing as well. xx
I feel I am sitting on the Rock of Gibraltar looking N and S :( ! I love gazpacho and make it so often, so, how come I have not been innovative enough to be a marriage maker here before? Altho' in the middle of autumn shall try this soonest! Oh, that photo is so delightful too :D !
This makes total sense to add Moroccan flavours to gazpacho! I'll give this a try when the weather warms up :)
I must give this a try. I also love Moroccan flavors and I can see it working in gazpacho..
Another gazpacho-wonderful! I could eat this on a daily basis! Great recipe and post!
How uncanny! I actually cook my vegetable soup with very similar ingredients, except the use of agave nectar and Himalayan salt. I never thought by blending everything together and it just get transform to an exotic Moroccan dish! Nice, this is perfect for a hot weather.
And if we added a real Moroccan spice such as Ras El Hanout..... yum!
(A blend of saffron, mild paprika, cumin, ginger, coriander seed, cassia tumeric, fennel seed, green cardamon seed, whole dill seed, galangal, nutmeg, rosebud, bay leaves, caraway seed, cayenne pepper, clove, and mace.)
Marc and Michael--I have a great recipe for Ras el Hanout, plus an article, should you be interested. The link is: http://flavorsofthesun.blogspot.com/2008/06/ras-el-hanout.html
Sooo good!!
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