Beetroot Gazpacho

Yesterday friends came round for a BBQ which was admittedly a little on the rubbish side. The food was good and BBQ's brocolli definately has something to it worth exploring. However I wasn't thinking about what order I should be cooking things in, ratios of food so nobody got a nice, balanced plate of food. Still it seemed in keeping with the mood of the day. We did make a Beetroot Gazpacho which was excellent. The original idea was that I was going to make a salsa to go with the BBQ'd vegetables so I wanted to keep my tomatoes in reserve and that's when I had the idea to use beetroot instead. It is simple and very tasty. In addition the colour is simply amazing.

200g raw beetroot peeled
400g tomotoes
3 cloves garlic
Salt
Half a cucumber
Half a pepper (green or red)
100g Breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons sherry vinegar (red wine will also do)

Put all the ingredients apart from the olive oil and vinegar into a blender and let it run until you have the consistency of a smootie
Check seasoning
Add oil and vinegar and pulse again
Check for taste
Refridgerate
Serve with a drizzle of olive oil and some nice fresh bread

Off out for a bike ride now.

Moving the castle

Howl's Moving Castle is a Japanese film about a Welsh book with American actors. We first saw it a while back and have had the DVD floating around so last night we watched it again and I really enjoyed it. OK except Bully Crystal not being funny. It came after a long day out riding our bikes. It also came with a nice glass of rum and coke which is definitely my poison.

The Kitchen has been a very productive place over the last few days and here is my recipe for Roast Red Pepper and Tomato soup. I must start by saying I got the idea from watching the BBC programme Masterchef. One of the competitors made this and I set out to give it a go. I worked out what I wanted to do and checked I was right by looking in a book called The Soup Bible.

Unsalted Butter
Olive oil
Onions
500g tomatoes chopped
3 large garlic cloves chopped
2 Red Peppers whole
Vermouth
600 ml of Chicken stock (preferably home made)
Fennel Seeds
1 tin of Pinto Beans
Chorizo
Salt & Pepper

Put the red peppers under a very hot grill and leave so that they blacken.
Gently fry the onions and garlic in a pan with some olive oil and butter. This is a slow process so don't worry about leaving them there for a while
When they are soft add a dash of vermouth
Add the tomatoes and leave to cook with the onions
Add the chicken stock
Check seasoning
Take the peppers out from under the grill, put in a bowl, cover with clingfilm and leave to cool.
Once cooled remove the charred skin, tear up and add to the pan
Check the taste and the seasoning
If it's good put everything in the blender and whisk until it is whatever texture you like. I prefer my soups to be a little chunky. Smooth isn't so good for me.
Add the pinto beans, chorizo and fennel seeds.
Serve

Tonight we had a fun salad with Chicken fried in oregano, rice, lentils, romaine and salad leaves, tomatoes, carrots, mozzarella and watermelon, mung beans with a nice garlic vinaigrette.

I'm also thinking ahead to the good weather and starting to think about all the great things waiting to be bbq'd. I'm not just talking about meat - the ubiquitous sausages. No I mean corn, broccoli, aubergines, peppers, fennel, courgette and many more great things beside. It's going to be a great summer.

Remember get outdoors, cook out there and waste nothing.