At Poste, the American-style brasserie in DC’s Penn Quarter, chef Robert Weland mixes up a green-gazpacho recipe from southern Spain.
Unlike more traditional recipes—which incorporate tomato, bell peppers, onions, and garlic—Weland’s version relies on spinach, lettuce, parsley, and mint for its freshness. And many of the ingredients come straight from Poste’s courtyard garden. “It’s all about the ingredients,” Weland says. “The fresher the better.”
Weland serves his chilled soup tableside, with a scoop of cucumber sorbet, a dollop of whipped crème fraîche, and a grilled shrimp for garnish. For one reader, who wrote in to request the recipe, it was the perfect remedy for the rising temperatures.
The gazpacho is simple to do at home, Weland says, but making the cucumber sorbet can be a bit more difficult: “It’s important to keep the sorbet balanced. Sometimes we slightly adjust the herb quantities—more basil, more mint, less dill.”
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Green Gazpacho with Cucumber Sorbet and Grilled Shrimp
Makes 12 servings.
Make the green gazpacho:
4 cups romaine lettuce, chopped
4 cups spinach, chopped
6 scallions, diced
2 medium cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
4 cups vegetable stock
1 cup crème fraîche
1 cup mayonnaise
2 teaspoons fresh mint leaves, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
In a blender, combine the lettuce, spinach, scallions, cucumber, and parsley until the mixture forms a purée. Gradually add the vegetable stock, 1 cup of crème fraiche, mayonnaise, mint, salt, and white pepper. Purée the mixture until it reaches an even consistency. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Make the cucumber sorbet:
¼ cup cold water
½ teaspoon powdered gelatin
¼ cup simple syrup
2 to 3 large skin-on cucumbers, chopped and blended with 4 basil leaves and 8 spearmint leaves and pushed through a fine-mesh sieve (should yield 2½ cups juice)
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
6 tablespoons vodka
1½ teaspoons salt
Pour the ¼ cup cold water in a small pot, and sprinkle the powdered gelatin over it and let sit for five minutes. In a medium pot set over low heat, bring the syrup to a simmer and remove from heat. Add the gelatin and stir until it dissolves. Pour the mixture in a large bowl, and add the cucumber juice, lemon juice, vodka, and salt. Let cool to room temperature. Freeze in an ice-cream maker according to the manufacturer’s instructions. Let the sorbet firm in the freezer for a couple of hours before serving.
Assemble the gazpacho:
12 ounces wild microgreens mix
2 cups sugar-snap peas, chopped and blanched
½ cup chives, chopped
½ cup dill, chopped
12 ounces crème fraîche, whipped with a hand blender until it forms soft peaks
12 head-on shrimp, grilled
Place 1 ounce of wild microgreens mix in each of 12 serving bowls. Spoon the chilled gazpacho over the top and scatter with sugar-snap peas, chives, and dill. Add a scoop of the cucumber sorbet, a dollop of whipped crème fraîche, and one grilled shrimp for garnish.
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