Post image for Summer Gazpacho and Fava Bean Mash

Many of you requested recipes I used during my Summer Market House, so here they are for your summer dinners! When planning this event I often change my menu with more seasonal fruits and vegetables, depending on what is available in the markets. My current vegetable boxes and fruit trees also help in creating the dishes I serve. At this summer market, I served a delicious gazpacho soup and teamed it up with a fava bean avocado mash and toast. The days here were becoming warmer and warmer so I looked for a cold soup to serve. After serving it during the market, I was surprised to learn this was many of my guests first taste of a cold soup! The recipe for this soup was a Tomato Gazpacho from Martha Stewart 100 Cookbook.

Red Gazpacho Soup

This is the perfect soup for your long hot summers! This recipe is from Martha Stewart's new cookbook, Martha 100.

Course Cold Soup

Cuisine American

Keyword cold soup, gazpacho, summer, tomato soup

Servings 8 people

Author Martha Stewart

Ingredients

5 tomatoes, cored and cut into quarters
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into 1 -inch pieces
3 celery stalks, cut into 1/2- inch pieces
1 red onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 red peppers, seeded, deribbed, and cut into 1/2 -inch dice
1/2 jalapeno chile, minced, (ribs and seeds removed) for less heat, if desired.
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leafed parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon kosher salt, more if needed
1 teaspoon hot sauce, such as Tabasco
Halved cherry tomatoes, and cilantro sprigs for serving

Instructions

Put all the ingredients, except the garnishes, in a large bowl. Add one cup water and stir until combined. Cover and let marinade in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 2 days.
Working in batches, process the soup in a food processor or blender until the vegetables are mostly smooth. Season with additional salt and served chilled. Top with cherry tomatoes and cilantro, if desired.

As a compliment to the Gazpacho soup, I added a toasted crostini topped with this delicious and creamy Avocado and Fava Bean spread. Fava Beans are very common in the Greek Diet. We often add them in soups, as a side dish or BBQ them with their pods on as an appetizer. In my garden this year, I grew fava beans and they happen to be ready to eat, so I served an avocado fava bean mash on toast. Of course, I topped it with a light sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil and a pinch of sea salt. This recipe is from Yotam Ottolenghi’s Simple cookbook.

Avocado and Fava Bean Mash Crostini

What a wonderful addition to any soup or salad. Don't forget to serve on a slice of toasted crostini, with a dash of EVOO. Or, feel free to assemble as directed in the original recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi is his Simple Cookbook.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine Greek/California

Keyword appetizer, avocado, crostini, fava beans

Servings 4

Ingredients

9 oz. fava beans, still in their shells but not in their pods, fresh or frozen.
1 large avocado, peeled and roughly chopped, (1¼ cups)
1 lemon, finely shaved to get one long strip of peel, then juice to get 1 ½ tablespoons.
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt to taste
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Instructions

Fill a small saucepan with salted water and bring to a boil. Blanch the beans for 2 minutes, then drain, refresh, and drain again. Peel and discard the skins of the bean, then set aside ⅓ cup for the topping. Put the rest of the beans in a food processor with the avocado, lemon juice, olive oil, and ¼ teaspoon of salt and process until almost smooth.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a small frying pan over medium-high heat, and gently fry the green onions and lemon strip for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and stir in the reserved fava beans and a pinch of salt.
Spread the avocado and fava mash onto a plate creating a natural rim and spoon the green onion mix into the middle just before serving. The lemon strip does nor normally get eaten, but it looks good as a garnish.
For crostini, slice and toast a baguette, and spread the fava mixture on the bread. Drizzle with olive oil and serve.

I’m so grateful to see so many of my guests attend my markets, bringing new friends along for me to meet! Please subscribe to my newsletter above to get more recipes and dates of my upcoming classes and events.