Ajo blanco comes from Malaga and it is one of the many gazpacho soups found in Spain. If you feel you would like to try preparing it in the traditional way, do everything in the same order, but use mortar and pestle. Put the paste in a big bowl before adding water. This cold soup is a natural source of E vitamin from the olive oil and almonds.
Since little interest has been shown in eating flowers, there is few bona fide data available. Flowers are rich in nectar and pollen; studies have shown pollen to be nutritious, with many vitamins and minerals. Roses, especially rosehips, are very high in vitamin C. Dandelion blossoms are high in vitamins A and C, and the leaves have lots of iron, calcium, phosphorous, and vitamin A and C. Marigolds and Nasturtium have vitamin C. Flowers are 95% water, so it is unlikely that they contain any significant amounts of nutrition, and no calories.
The better tomatoes you use the better your gazpacho will be. Juicy tomatoes -like plum tomatoes, or any other of the kind used for sauce- work best. If desperate for gazpacho but with no fresh tomatoes at hand, use tomato juice, tomato puree or canned tomato is not recommended, though once you have tried the real thing you will find the taste very different. The second most important ingredient for flavor is olive oil. If there is no time to chill the gazpacho, add ice cubes, though you might find the taste too strong; gazpacho improves with some rest. Prepare your gazpacho the day before, or when you get up in the morning, it will be perfect for your lunch or evening meal.
This is an interesting way to serve lettuce. Crunchy lettuces are not the best for this recipe, but you can use the outer leaves, those you don't throw into the salad.
Piquillo peppers have their own unique flavor, sweet and spicy. You can serve this one as a sorbet. Or pour 1 cup of the cold cream in the ice cream maker and put mini scoops of piquillo pepper sorbet, as garnish, in the bowls with chilled soup.
A hit with all our guests and amazingly easy to prepare. The uniqueness in flavor comes from using as dressing the olive oil and cider vinegar mixture from the baking dish. That trick we learnt from Arzak, one of the top chefs in Spain.
Zucchini is high in fiber and low in calories. Using stock, skim milk, and evaporated milk we make lighter the traditional vichyssoise. Aromatic herbs and spices give extra flavor, as the curry does in this recipe.
This recipe is easy, simple, and offers many possible substitutions. The dough can be used to make blue corn muffins or cornbread. Endless variations for a creative mind.
