Tomatillo, Tomato and Avocado Gazpacho

During my three-day juice cleanse I had a lot of time to think about food that I was going to consume after putting myself through a silly (but delicious) liquid diet. I found myself spending more time on Instagram, admiring everyone's scrumptious meals. I picked up a new show to binge watch - America's Test Kitchen -- how did I not know about this before? I found myself enthralled to the next level with food - yet not necessarily craving it - just appreciating it to the fullest.

So when it came time to re-introduce solid food back into my life, you can bet that I already had my game plan ready. By no means are you supposed to go hog wild and dive deep into a burger and fries immediately after soothing your body with liquid nutrients. Nor did I crave this type of food anyhow (though I'm sure if you put a perfect juicy burger with a soft, artisan bun in front of me - my willpower would certainly be tested). My game plan was simple - keep with fruits and vegetables and make them as exciting as possible. Without much patience for a complicated concoction for the morning, I opted for fresh berries and melon with mint and lime. The mint really elevates a simple fruit salad and the lime brings it all together. That first bite of a blackberry, feeling the juices burst in my mouth...well that was simply fabulous.

Lunch is where I wanted to get more creative. And my craving here was for my favorite summertime soup - a gazpacho. Cold, tangy and super healthy. Having just had some brilliant stuffed poblanos with an avocado tomatillo sauce prior to my cleanse - the flavors of tomatillo and avocado stuck with me and were absolutely calling my name mid-way through the juice diet. And then I had the idea - why not make gazpacho with tomatillo! *pat on the back*

After browsing a few recipes, I found out that perhaps a tomatillo only gazpacho would be a bit much and the addition of tomatoes brought the necessary balance. But the recipes that I saw were calling for raw garlic and onion and I'm finding more and more that, while I love those ingredients, having them raw isn't jiving too well with me nowadays. So instead, I pulled together my own concoction which, I have to tell you, was aaaamazing. Craving satisfied.

Here's what I did.

Ingredients:

1 lb. tomatillos, husk removed and rinsed

1 lb. heirloom tomatoes

1/2 medium red onion, cut into quarters

1 jalapeno pepper

1 large or 2 small garlic clove

1/2 avocado

1/3 cup cilantro

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1/2 lime

1/4 tsp. cumin (ideally toasted)

2 Tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste 

Topping:

1/2 cucumber, diced

1/2 avocado, diced

1/4 cup cilantro, chopped

1/2 lime, juice

salt

pepitas (pumpkin seeds), toasted

Directions:

1. Place the tomatillos, red onion, garlic (skin on) and jalapeno on a baking sheet and broil in oven (on high) until the skins of the tomatillos and jalapeno are blistered (brown, not black) - about 15 minutes, flipping the ingredients once. Remove from oven and let cool.
2. Meanwhile, bring a pot of water to a boil and prepare an ice bath in a large bowl. With a knife, make a shallow slit on the end (opposite of the stem) of each tomato in an X shape. Place the tomatoes in the boiling water for 30-90 seconds depending on the size of the tomato. You want to see the skin peeling away from the tomato. Place in the prepared ice bath and remove tomato skins entirely once cool.
3. Place the tomatoes in a blender and add the tomatillos, peeled garlic clove, jalapeno (seeded), red onion, avocado and cup of water (you may need to do this in steps depending on the size of your blender). Blend to a puree so that there are no obvious chunks. Season with the worchestershire sauce, lime, cumin, olive oil, salt and pepper. Blend again and adjust flavors as desired.
4. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.
5. To make the topping, combined the diced cucumbers, diced avocados and cilantro in a small bowl. Add lime juice and season with salt, to taste. 
6. To serve, ladle the chilled gazpacho into a bowl and top with the cucumber/avocado mixture and sprinkle with pepitas.

I actually forgot to add the pepitas on my soup but had definitely meant to do so. Mid-way through my bowl I realized my oversight but continued to enjoy the perfectly tangy gazpacho and nearly licked the bowl (after seconds...).

What I loved about this approach is that I didn't get the "sting" that so often occurs in gazpacho that has raw garlic and onion. Broiling the onion and garlic left the delicious flavors without the lingering effect. The gazpacho had zip already from the tartness of the tomatillos, the zip of the lime and the spice of the jalapeno. Raw garlic and onion, you were not missed.

This was a super satisfying summer soup (say that 5 times fast) that I'm going to continue to make. Now if Chicago will ever decide to bring summer (or Spring for that matter)...

Eat Well!

Katie