Chunk Shrimp Gazpacho with Basil Croutons

This recipe was sent to me a few weeks ago by a friend of mine in Boston (props to Mackenzie), and this one didn’t sit in the queue very long. Gazpacho is great during the heat of summer, plus my tomato and basil plants are rockin’ in full effect. There will be a post coming on those plants soon, but I still need a camera. I tried to get an iPhone at 8AM this morning at Lenox Mall only to find there was already a line 5 HOURS LONG!. So I left and got coffee and bagels from Goldberg’s (best in Atlanta, you heard it here).

Back to Gazpacho – this recipe sounded very fresh and flavorful and I when I realized I had most everything the recipe called for I decided that’s what was for lunch. I will post the full recipe below, but here’s a quick summary of the fruit/vegetables needed: corn, tomatoes (cherry and whatever flavor you prefer), red and green pepper, onion, cucumber, red onion, jalapeno, and garlic. Lots of stuff going on, for sheezy.

Oh, and I don’t have step by step pics (just the final product below) – sorry!

First you have to boil the corn and this gives you some time to prep the other stuff.  I roughly chopped the onion, peppers, cucumber, store bought tomato, and minced the garlic and jalapeno (also from the garden). The recipe called to toss most of this into the food processor, but you retain a little bit of everything to later dump in the puree it to make it “chunky”. I used large store bought vine ripened tomatoes for the base puree but used my home grown Big Boy tomatoes and also quartered the cherry tomatoes as the chunky tomatoes for the puree.

One the puree was done and the remaining vegetables (sans the corn) were added I proceeded with the croutons and Court Bouillon. I was told the Court Bouillon was not absolutely necessary, but I figured what the hell, I’ve never tried it and it didn’t look too time consuming. I added all the ingredients and simmered, then saved a few cups for this recipe and put the rest the freezer for use later.

I also had preheated the oven while preparing the CB and grabbed some basil from the porch and whisked it in with some olive oil. Then I took that mixture and drizzled it over some sour dough bread squares in a baking sheet and threw it in the oven.

Also by this point I had taken the corn out and let it cool then cut it off the sides of the ears and once the kernels were cool I threw it in with the rest of the Gazpacho that was chillin’ on ice.

Lastly, I boiled the Court Bouillon and threw the peeled and deveined shrimp in there for just a couple of minutes. When I took them out I let them cool for a few mins then roughly chopped them and threw them in the gazpacho. Then the croutons were ready and I plated it and served up my fancy fresh lunch for one.

There was an oustanding amount of flavor in this gazpacho, it was the best I’ve ever had, even though I forgot to add the red wine vinegar. Also the croutons were super simple but added a lot of texture and when they were still warm the contrast was appealing. If I was not lazy and had purchased deck furniture, sitting outside with the cool soup would have been ideal. The jury is out on whether or not the Court Bouillon was worth it, but the shrimp tasted superb so maybe it helped? Either way it was fun trying something new and now I have stock for future recipes. Mackenzie told me she paired this with a rose when she made it with her roommate, and if I had not been working that day I think I would have had to check it out because that sounds great.

The whole thing took about an hour and I plan on keeping this on the list of recipes to make again this summer. Recipe and pics below. Oh, and the recipe called for the vegetables to be mirepoix, which I knew to be the traditional french food base of celery, onion, and carrot but I guess it can be other things too? Maybe someone can fill me in….

Chunk Shrimp Gazpacho with Basil Croutons

2 ears fresh corn, husked
4.5 lbs vine-ripened tomatoes, washed and finely chopped or 2 cans Italian peeled tomatoes
2 red bell peppers, washed, mirepoix (about 2 cups)
1 bell green pepper, washed mirepoix (about 1 cup)
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, mirepoix
½ cup red onion, mirepoix
1 TBS minced garlic cloves
1 lb vine-ripe cherry tomatoes, washed and quartered
2 fresh jalapeno chili peppers, seeded brunoise
¼ cup red wine vinegar
1 tsp cumin, ground
3 cups court bouillon
1/5 lbs medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
.5-1 cup cold soda water for thinning soup
Salt and pepper to taste

To cook the corn:
Bring a medium-sized saucepan of water to a boil, salt it lightly, and cook the corn until just tender.  8-10 minutes.  Drain, cook, and remove kernels with a knife.

To make gazpacho:
In a food processor, puree 2.5 lbs of the tomatoes, half of the red pepper, half of the green pepper, half the cucumber, ¼ cup red onion, and 2 cloves of garlic.  Transfer puree to a bowl and stir in remaining chopped vine-ripe tomatoes and cherry tomatoes, bell pepper, jalapeno, cucumber, onion, and corn.  Stir in vinegar to taste and season with cumin, salt, and pepper.  Chill over an ice bath.

Bring court bouillon to a rolling boil.  Remove from heat, drop in shrimp, and cook until just opaque, about 1-1.5 min.  Coarsely chop shrimp and stir into gazpacho.  Jus tbefore serving, thin gazpacho with chilled soda water if necessary.

Basil Croutons
1.5 cups fresh basil leaves, washed, dried, and packed
6 TBS olive oil
12 slices firm white sandwich bread, cut into ½ inch cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350.
In a food processor, puree basil and oil.  On a baking sheet with a lip, toss bread with basil oil and bake in middle of the oven, shaking pan from time to time, until golden and crisp, approx. 10-15 min.  Season with salt and pepper.