Gazpacho served at the White House

The First Lady, Michelle Obama, a ferocious advocate of healthy eating and living, delighted her guests this past weekend with some gazpacho prepared by Spanish chef Jose Andres during the luncheon that she hosted for the spouses of the Group of Eight leaders. It's gazpacho slowly making its way into the American way of living? Judge for yourself...http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/12638299-418/story.html

First Lady Michelle Obama, from right, Hitomi Noda, wife of Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, and Valerie Trierweiler, partner of French President Francois Hollande, listen to the White House curator during a tour with spouses of the G-8 leaders at the White House in Washington Saturday, May 19, 2012.

"Light" Andalusian Gazpacho (a la Beatriz Taillefer)

This past Saturday our dear friends Beatriz Taillefer and Eduardo Guille celebrated a beautiful wedding in Malaga, Spain and we soooo wished we could have been there.  About 17 years ago our dear friend and artist extraordinaire, Beatriz, came to visit us from Malaga and shared with me what I call a light Andalusian gazpacho recipe.  Malaga is on the southern coast of Spain, in Andalusia.  This coast, also known as the Costa del Sol, is the land of the sun, of joyful and easy going people, and is well known in the world for its touristy beaches like Marbella, Estepona, Torremolinos and Fuengirola, amongst others. To me this region is the epitome of easy living, laughter, sunny days and incredibly healthy and refreshing food. Having been with my husband many times to Malaga on visits to Beatriz and her family, the Taillefers, I can now say that the gazpacho that we have enjoyed at their home and their childrens' homes was one of my favorites. So today, I will share with you the recipe that Beatriz shared with me so many years ago; even if it's a slight variation from the traditional Andalusian recipe:

Ingredients for a "light" Andalusian Gazpacho:

• About 2 lbs of very ripe plum tomatoes, washed and cut (skinned will be optional)
• About 1 cup of cucumbers, washed and partially peeled (you may peel them completely but the belief is that by leaving some skin, they will be easier to digest)
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves 
• About 1 to 1 1/2 cups of ice cold water (this depends on how you want the consistency)
• Salt to taste (I put about 3/4 tsp to 1 tsp)
• 1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of lemon juice

In a blender at full speed blend all ingredients until desired consistency.  Refrigerate immediately and let it cool in a glass pitcher for at least 4 hours before serving. Enjoy it on a glass, or as a first course in a bowl. You may always garnish with diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions or even croutons. Cheers!

Do you have any favorite gazpacho recipes? Share them with us.

You can see my friend's Beatriz Taillefer's portfolio at www.beatriztaillefer.artelista.com/en/ and Eduardo Guille's portfolio at www.eduardoguille.artelista.com/en/

Bea and Eduardo in their civil ceremony last week in Malaga

Gazpacho Tip: How to wash tomatoes

Does the temperature of the water we use to wash our tomatoes matter? I used to not think so.  However,  as I have learned in the last few months, water temperature matters. The wash water should be several degrees warmer than the pulp temperature of the tomatoes to avoid drawing water and disease organisms in the tomato. Therefore, if your tomato is at room temperature (which is the case in most instances) the water you use to wash them should be lukewarm. Rubbing the tomato under running water will be better than just letting the water run over them. And another thing, do not soak the tomatoes.  Under more than one foot of water they will float right up to the surface. If the water is colder than the tomato it will be absorbed into the fruit and so will any microorganisms that could have been on its surface from the store, from the farm etc...

To read more about safely handling produce and vegetables visit this USDA brochure at http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/safety/pdf/best_practices.pdf  made for school cafeteria personnel. Look at page 4 for a chart on handling different fruits and veggies.