Fruit Gazpacho and MFU... for The Wretching...

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

the_wretching asked for a light, fruity gazpacho.  Somehow this little fic came into play along with the recipe.
:~~~~~:~~~~~:~~~~~:~~~~~:

Hot. The sun was strutting its stuff like a beautiful woman in sequins; blinding your eyes while you tried to avoid the glare, still mesmerized by the sight of her.

Napoleon winced at his own hapless attempt at metaphor.  Oh well, he'd leave literary pursuits to someone else.  What was true was that the only thing saving his day from utter desolation was the bowl in front of him.  A white grape gazpacho had been the invention of his partner as they sought refuge from both the heat and boredom.

Illya had braved the heat in order to go into town and shop at the liltle mercado, returning with the makings of this glorious cold soup, a decidedly different approach to the Spanish classic.

"Illya, where did you get the inspiration for this?  It seems a tad outside your normal culinary pursuits."

The blond head canted to one side as his left eyebrow arched slightly.

"I actually have no culinary pursuits to which I can compare this.  However, I will admit that there was a woman shopping with whom I struck up a conversation.' Napoleon's eyebrow arched at that, not to be outdone with that device of facial expression.

"She was commenting to the seller about these grapes and having a little difficulty with the language."

"Ah."

"Eventually she shared this recipe with me, for which I now accept your thanks for  having been uncharacteristically social and predictably astute."

Napoleon had to smile, the soup was very good and, if his guess were correct, the woman in question very attractive.

"So, this woman...?"  Illya stared at him in his best imitation of an owl.

"What about her?"

"Is she pretty?"

"Some might say so."

"Is she single?"

"I didn't ask."  There, Napoleon saw it.  A slight shifting of the eyes, the blue pinging a little brighter at the omission of truth.

"And you are seeing her...?"

Illya sighed then, the futility of attempting to out-spy a spy; Napoleon had a sixth sense about anything related to a female.

"She is going to teach me the fine points of paella."  Did the Russian just blush?

"MmmhHmmm.... I can see it now, shrimp and chicken on a bed of rice..." The over-empasized wink made Illya wince.

"Blockhead."

Paella indeed.





White Gazpacho with Grape, Almond and Melon

Ingredients
3/4 cup almonds, blanched and peeled
1/4 to 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 small honeydew or Sharlyn melons, peeled, seeded and cut into large pieces (6 to 7 cups melon chunks)
Salt
Ground white pepper
1/4 cup almonds, toasted and julienned
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
Creme fraiche
Directions
Put the blanched almonds in a blender with 1/4 cup of the lemon juice. Puree until totally smooth, then add the bread and melon and puree again. You will most likely need to puree the melon in batches. After pureeing one batch, pour out all but one cup of the liquid and then add the next batch. Season well with salt and white pepper. If the soup needs more acid, add the remaining lemon juice. If the soup is too thick, you can add a little water, but if the melons are really ripe, this shouldn't be a problem. Serve slightly chilled. Garnish with toasted almonds, grapes, and a swirl of creme fraiche.

Recipe courtesy of BAY WOLF RESTAURANT COOKBOOK (10 Speed Press, 2001) by Michael Wild and Lauren Lyle

Comments

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

Art imitating life. This was great!

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

Yep, and now we can all pretend to be that woman in the market ;)

[rosywonder.livejournal.com]

Definitely!