SERRANO GAZPACHO SERVED IN SHOT GLASSES
COCONUT-ANCHO SOUP WITH MUSHROOMS
CHILLED AVOCADO SOUP WITH ANCHO CHILE JAM
SERVES 4 AS A FIRST COURSE
Every summer during the height of the tomato season, Teri makes this soup from perfectly ripe yellow tomatoes bought at our local farmers’ market. Taking only about 30 minutes to prepare, the soup has a striking yellow color speckled with green flecks of cilantro. The soup is also very good made with red tomatoes. But if you do that, omit the vinegar, since red tomatoes have enough acid. For variation, just before serving, stir in chilled cooked shrimp or fresh lump crabmeat.
3 large vine-ripened yellow tomatoes, about 1½ pounds
½ yellow bell pepper
2 green onions, white part only
¼ bunch cilantro, leaves and tender stems, about 1 cup loosely packed
½ jalapeño or serrano chile, including the seeds
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup red or white wine vinegar, or as needed
Cut the tomatoes in half through the circumference (not through the stem). Place a sieve into a bowl. Over the sieve, gently shake out the tomato seeds. Reserve the tomato juice. Cut away the stem area, and cut the tomatoes into large cubes. Chop the bell pepper. Coarsely chop the green onions. Cut off and discard the large cilantro stems. Set aside a few sprigs of cilantro for garnish. Chop the chile.
Place the tomatoes, the tomato juice, the bell pepper, garlic, and ginger in a blender. Blend until liquefied. Add the green onions, cilantro, chile, olive oil, and salt. Pulse a fewtimes. Taste the soup. Add the vinegar as desired, depending on how tart you want the soup. Makes approximately 4 cups. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. The soup can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated in an airtight container.
To serve, first taste the soup again and adjust as needed for salt, spice, and vinegar. Serve in chilled bowls garnished with the cilantro sprigs.
SERVES 4 AS A FIRST COURSE OR 8 AS AN APPETIZER
Successful appetizers have a flavor punch. The tiny tastes, or in this case the little sips, are a taste triumph only if packed with seasonings. This dish has so many levels of flavor that your guests will still be wondering about possible ingredients long after consuming the gazpacho. We serve this in shot glasses, tequila shooters, sake cups, martini glasses, or little Japanese teacups. For a nice variation, after the soup has been chilled, stir in a diced avocado.
6 cups quartered vine-ripened tomatoes
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 to 2 serrano chiles, chopped, including the seeds
¼ cup fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems
½ teaspoon salt
1 lime (optional)
½ cup crumbled queso fresco or crema
Finely chop by hand 2 cups of the quartered tomatoes.
In a blender, place the remaining 4 cups quartered tomatoes, the Worcestershire, garlic, chiles, cilantro, and salt. Blend until smooth, and then transfer to a bowl. Stir in the chopped tomatoes. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. The soup can be completed up to this point 2 days ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
To serve, taste and adjust the seasonings, especially for spice, salt, and lime, if using. Transfer to shot glasses or small soup bowls. Garnish with the crumbled queso fresco and serve.
SERVES 4
This is one of Mexico’s most famous soups, and there are many variations. The dried chiles can be omitted. Or float a whole chipotle chile in adobo sauce in the center of each bowl of soup. Or stir shrimp (peeled and butterflied) into the soup for a few minutes of gentle simmering. At the end of this recipe, there are three suggestions for serving this soup: as an appetizer, as a first course, and as a main course with roasted or grilled chicken added.
3 (6-inch) corn tortillas
1 cup flavorless cooking oil
5 large vine-ripened tomatoes, about 3 pounds
3 tablespoons sugar
2 guajillo chiles
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 small shallots, papery skin removed
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried oregano, or 2 teaspoons chopped fresh oregano, preferably Mexican
2 ripe avocados
¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems
¼ cup crema
Lime wedges, for garnish
Cut the tortillas in half, then into ¼-inch-wide strips. Heat the cooking oil in a large frying pan until a piece of tortilla dipped into the oil bubbles. Add the tortilla strips and cook in batches until dark golden, about 1 minute. Drain on paper towels.
Prepare a hot fire in a gas or charcoal grill. Cut the tops and bottoms off the tomatoes. Cut the tomatoes in half horizontally and sprinkle both sides with the sugar. Place over the fire, and cook until charred on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. Discard the skins, and transfer the tomatoes to a blender.
Using scissors, cut the stems off the chiles. Shake out all interior seeds. In a small saucepan, bring the chicken broth to a boil. Then turn off the heat, add the chiles, and place a small bowl on top of the chiles to submerge them. Let soak for 30 minutes, then transfer the chiles and broth to the blender holding the tomatoes.
Cut the shallots in half. Place a small, heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the garlic cloves and shallots. Cook on both sides until lightly browned, about 2 minutes. Transfer the garlic and shallots to the blender. Add the salt and oregano. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds. Transfer the tomato soup to a large saucepan. The recipe can be completed up to this point 24 hours in advance, with the soup kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
When ready to serve, pit, peel, and slice the avocados.
Most houses in San Miguel have an outdoor living area, called an outdoor sala, where a leisurely lunch can be enjoyed in the shade.
To serve as an appetizer: Serve the tomato soup chilled in shooter glasses, garnished with the cilantro, crema, and lime wedges (omit the tortillas and avocado).
To serve as a first course: Bring the soup to a low simmer. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Ladle into soup bowls and garnish with the sliced avocado, tortilla strips, cilantro, and crema. Serve accompanied by lime wedges.
To serve as a main course: Bring the soup to a low simmer. Slice the meat from 1 roasted deli chicken into bite-size pieces. Place the chicken in the bottom of each bowl; ladle in the hot tomato soup. Garnish with the sliced avocado, crema, and lime wedges.
SERVES 4 AS A FIRST COURSE
Coconut is a common ingredient along the southern coast of Mexico. Here dried chiles are simmered in the coconut broth, thus infusing the soup with flavor and tinting it a slight reddish color. The soup is also good served chilled in shooter glasses as an appetizer.
2 ancho chiles
4 cups unsweetened coconut milk
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
½ serrano chile, chopped, including the seeds
2 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 (1-inch) cinnamon stick, preferably Mexican
2 teaspoons finely grated lime zest
1 teaspoon salt
3 ears sweet white corn, shucked
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing the corn
4 ounces mushrooms, such as shiitake or cremini
¼ cup shredded fresh mint leaves
8 lime wedges
Stem and seed the ancho chiles. Cut them into 6 pieces. In a 3-quart saucepan over medium heat, combine the ancho chiles, coconut milk, broth, serrano chile, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, lime zest, and salt. Bring to a simmer (but do not let the soup boil). Then turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour. Discard the cinnamon stick.
Pour the soup into a blender. Pulse on high speed for 30 seconds. Rub the corn with salt and pepper, then rub with a little olive oil. Roast the corn until lightly browned in a heavy frying pan over high heat (or grill it on a gas or charcoal grill). When cool enough to handle, cut the kernels off the cobs and stir them into the soup.
Cut the mushrooms into thin slices or into quarters. In a 2½-quart saucepan over medium heat, heat the 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the mushrooms and sauté until they soften, about 3 minutes. Add the mushrooms to the corn-coconut broth. The soup can be completed up to this point 24 hours ahead, with the soup kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
To serve, bring the soup to a simmer over low heat. Ladle into Asian teacups or soup bowls. Garnish with the mint leaves and lime wedges.
SERVES 6 AS A FIRST COURSE
Hugh first tasted this soup as a teenager spending the summer in Cuernavaca. Served iced in a tropical garden setting including giant macaws, the evening made an indelible impression. This very tasty and easy recipe can be made a day in advance and refrigerated. It maintains its vibrant green color. Serve it as a first course, or as an appetizer in sake cups or shot glasses, or pour the soup into martini glasses ringed with large chilled cooked shrimp. Another nice variation is to float an iceberg lettuce cup in the center of each bowl of avocado soup, and fill the lettuce cup with fresh cooked crabmeat or bay shrimp. Or, sprinkle a crumbled goat cheese or farmer’s cheese over the top of the soup, or swirl in some crema. Of course, for this dish everything depends on choosing an avocado that is at a perfect ripeness. Look for buttery Hass avocados grown in Southern California or Mexico.
1 perfectly ripe avocado
2 to 4 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, leaves and tender stems
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
½ serrano chile, finely minced, including the seeds
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth, plus more if needed
2 to 4 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
½ teaspoon salt
4 to 8 squares iceberg lettuce, each 2 by 2 inches
Ancho Chile Jam, for serving here
Crema, for garnish
Cut the avocado in half, discard the pit, and scoop out the flesh. Transfer the avocado to a blender. Add the cilantro, ginger, serrano chile, broth, lime juice, and salt. Blend until liquefied. If the soup is too thick, thin it by adding more chicken broth.
Taste and adjust the flavors of chile, lime juice, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and press plastic wrap directly across the surface of the soup. Refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving. The soup can be prepared 24 hours ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
To serve, taste again and adjust the soup for chile, lime juice, and salt. Transfer the soup to chilled soup bowls, martini glasses, or shot glasses. If serving this in soup bowls, add the iceberg lettuce squares, and place a small spoonful of ancho chile jam in each iceberg lettuce square. If serving the soup in cups too small to hold the iceberg lettuce squares, add a little spoonful of the jam to the center of the soup. Drizzle a little crema over the top and serve at once.
This is a mango version of the avocado soup. Replace the avocado with 4 cups mango flesh. Place in blender with the remaining ingredients and puree.
SERVES 4 AS A FIRST COURSE
We first enjoyed this soup many years ago at Juan Carlos Escalante’s beautiful San Miguel restaurant, Nirvana. The soup made a lasting impression on us, and we have made many variations. This is the latest one! Buy seedless watermelon at the peak of the summer crop, when it has the brightest color. This is good hot or chilled, though we prefer it chilled. We’ve tried using red watermelon for the soup and yellow watermelon for the diced garnish. The two-color arrangement looks odd, however, so be consistent and use just one color of watermelon.
4 pounds watermelon
¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
½ serrano chile, chopped, including the seeds
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup crema
¼ cup fresh mint leaves, shredded or chopped
Prepare 5 cups of watermelon cut into approximately 1-inch cubes. Remove the seeds. Prepare 2 cups of watermelon cut into ¼- to ½-inch dice. Remove the seeds. Set the diced watermelon aside.
Place the 5 cups cubed watermelon in a blender. Add the lime juice, ginger, chile, Worcestershire, and salt. Blend into a liquid. Place a medium-mesh sieve over a saucepan, and strain the soup through the sieve in order to remove any lingering seeds.
Bring the soup to a simmer over low heat and simmer for 10 minutes. The soup can be prepared up to this point 24 hours in advance and kept refrigerated in an airtight container. Makes 4 to 6 cups.
If serving the soup hot: Reheat in a saucepan over low heat, if necessary. Stir in the reserved diced watermelon. Taste the soup, adjusting for the salt and lime juice. Pour into soup bowls and garnish with the crema and mint.
If serving chilled: Stir in the reserved diced watermelon. Spoon the chilled soup into martini or shot glasses. Garnish with the crema and mint.
SERVES 4 AS A MAIN COURSE
This recipe was inspired by Chef Robert Del Grande’s famous cilantro and mussel soup that he served for many years at his Houston restaurant, Café Annie. We serve the soup on a hot summer night as the main course accompanied by Yellow Watermelon Salad, Mexican Spicy Smoked Baby Back Riblets, and Coconut Ice Cream.
1½ pounds raw large shrimp, shell on
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
5 cloves garlic, chopped
5 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bunches cilantro, including all the stems (8 cups loosely packed)
2 cups packed spinach
2 whole green onions, chopped
2 tablespoons chopped fresh ginger
1 serrano chile, chopped, including the seeds
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream
Freshly ground black pepper
Olive oil
2 teaspoons cornstarch
Ancho Chile Jam, for garnish
Peel the shrimp, saving the shells. Split the shrimp in half lengthwise. Rinse away any black vein, then set aside. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, place the olive oil, garlic, and shrimp shells. Cook for a few minutes, until the shells turn pink. Add the broth, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat for 15 minutes. Transfer to a blender. Blend on high speed for 15 seconds, then pour the liquid through a mesh sieve. Reserve the liquid and discard all solids.
Put the broth, cilantro, spinach, green onions, ginger, chile, and salt into the blender. Blend to liquefy. If you have a small blender, you may need to do this in batches. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the cream. You will have 8 cups of soup. Taste and adjust the seasonings. The soup can be prepared up to this point 24 hours ahead and kept refrigerated in an airtight container.
To serve, prepare a medium fire in a gas or charcoal grill. Season the shrimp with salt, pepper, and olive oil. Grill the shrimp for about 2 minutes on each side, or until pink.
Combine the cornstarch with 2 teaspoons water. Bring the soup to a simmer. If you want a thicker soup, stir the cornstarch mixture into the soup. Pour the soup into shallow soup bowls. Add the shrimp and garnish with spoonfuls of ancho chile jam. Serve hot.
