Chilled Gazpacho Salad

Those tomatoes got your attention, didn't they? I could eat them with my eyes. But now that I've got you here, let's talk about all this summer produce. Depending on where you are right now, any number of these ingredients may be in season, or all of them. I have been inhaling melon and tomatoes the past few weeks, to the point where there might as well not be anything else to eat. I look forward to breakfast just so I can make toast with butter, Marmite, and huge slices of heirloom tomatoes. I pull a big bowl of cut melon out of the fridge when it's snack time and stand over the counter in sheer appreciation of every dewy, luscious bite. Peppers are in and Hatch chilies are being roasted in front of the supermarket by the ton, ready for your salsa verde, your veggie burger, your queso.  Peak. Summer. Produce. When these things are in season, they are in season.

So, the only logical thing to do, if we are to take this abundance to a level above standing over the counter and eating melon by the pound in a fructose induced euphoria, is to combine them all together at once! Now, the union of the ingredients you see below is not a new invention by far. Grind the almonds, bread, olive oil, onion, pepper, cucumber, tomato, melon together and season with a little garlic, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. That's called gazpacho. Ok, If I had my fancy-pants on, I would call this "Deconstructed Gazpacho". But I don't, so I am calling it Chilled Gazpacho Salad. All the familiar flavors of Gazpacho soup, but with more texture! In salad form!

I am also going to come right out and admit that due to the Texas summer heat, I have been lazily feasting with my range off, so cooking up the whole grains has taken a back burner to simply slicing off a hunk of proper sourdough bread and toasting it. Cooking with far less heat and humidity because we've got plenty of that. The Manchego is not a traditional Gazpacho ingredient but it's delicious and works so perfectly with this salad! Did I mention that I also bought a bottle of Sherry? Oh yeah, that also works perfectly for a light, cool sip to go along with your chilled salad plate.

This magical season will pass quickly so enjoy the melding of all these summery flavors in this well balanced little sweet and savory salad.

Serve the Manchego either shaved over the salad or in thin slices with the bread, heaping the salad on top of the bread and cheese. And of course, sop up every last drop of the juices with the toast as well.

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Chilled Gazpacho Salad

Ingredients:

• 1 C diced tomato
• 1 C diced melon
• 1/2 C diced cucumber
• 1/4 C onion, thinly sliced
• 1/4 C Anaheim pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/4 C almonds, whole
• Finely grated garlic, amount the size of a pea (less than 1/8 tsp)
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 Tsp sherry vinegar
• 1/4 Tsp sea salt
• Generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
• Sourdough or your favorite dense loaf for toasting

Prepare the tomato, cucumber, and melon in 1/2 inch dice. Thinly slice the onion and Anaheim pepper in 1 inch long strips. Gently place the tomato, melon, cucumber, onion and pepper in a medium sized bowl. Do not stir.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and toast the whole almonds on a sheet pan for about 10 minutes. They should begin to be aromatic. Remove the almonds from the pan and allow them to cool. When the almonds are cool, roughly slice each one from top to bottom either in half or rough thirds.

In a small bowl, mix the garlic, extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. I really recommend a generous portion of freshly ground black pepper. It really adds a little pungent kick to the sweet/acid/savory mix of the salad. Pour this mixture over the diced salad and fold into the salad lightly. Cover tightly and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

If you are serving the entire salad at once, toast plenty of bread in 1/3 inch thick slices. Otherwise, toast just enough for the number of servings you are using. Now you can make thin, 1/8th inch slices of the Manchego to have on the bread, or choose to shave the cheese over the salad before serving. A simple mandolin or knife works best to make the shavings. I would not recommend using a microplane for this job as the liquid in the salad will make the cheese to wet. You can be the judge of how much bread and cheese you would like to go with the salad.

After the salad is chilled, it is ready to serve with the bread and cheese for a lovely appetizer or a light lunch. Enjoy!

Yield: 6-8 Appetizer portions or 4 lunch portions.

The salad keeps surprisingly well refrigerated for 5 days.

Grilled Halloumi, Fruits and Vegetables with Rosemary-Chili Vinaigrette

This post all began with the vinaigrette. It's a go-to sauce for me, since I have copious amounts of rosemary on hand. The fact that it's NOT 100 degrees but hovering around the upper 80's this week gave me the perfect excuse to pair this zippy rosemary vinaigrette with a grill platter. So, fire up some coals, grab a little glass of red wine, a loaf of crusty, chewy peasant bread, and make this platter!

This bold rosemary, chili, lemon and honey sauce is not at all dainty. It's even chunky, you get bits of rosemary, chili, and lemon zest. If you can mince, zest, and stir you can make it. It loves thick wedges of vegetables, hunks of bread, grilled fish and other meats or grilled Haloumi cheese. Halloumi is a firm (considered semi-hard) goat and sheep's milk cheese that is excellent on the grill or warmed on a griddle before serving. It tastes a little wild and is matched nicely by the bold flavors in this sauce.

Spices sometimes get forgotten, so make sure you do replace them at least yearly if you don't go through a jar in that time. They loose their punch and flavor, and we've all had that sad, pale, geriatric jar of something or other that has managed to escape the bin for a few years. So, make sure you've got some fresh, punchy, deep red chili flakes and go to town. A good substitute might be to toss in a little ground chipotle pepper or minced chipotle en adobo for a smokey version of this sauce.

As far as your lineup of veggies, fruits and proteins for the grill, well just about anything goes! If you haven't grilled stone fruit before, it's a good time to start. Plums, peaches, and nectarines are going to knock your socks off. I almost never grill without throwing on one entire onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rings. Try firm fleshed tomatoes as well, sliced in half or lengthwise for plum type tomatoes like Roma. Remove some of the moist seed pockets and they will grill better. Of course, lightly brush everything with olive oil and remember not to move things around. Respect the first contact with the grill so you get respectable char marks!

The Halloumi takes just 2 minutes on each side, depending on where you lay it on the grill. I would pick a medium-hot spot for the cheese. Grill your other items first, then throw the cheese on when the last things are finishing up. This way the Halloumi will be soft and warm for serving. Don't forget to grill some lemon! The cheese especially loves to have extra lemon to match it's saltiness.

The platter above was prepared for two adults, but if your grill is big enough, by all means do extra veggies and fruits!!! There is no downside to having grilled veggies for sandwiches, adding to pasta, or chopping into an omelette later in the week. The grilled fruit makes an instant desert by itself, drizzled with honey and nuts, or with ice cream, but you already thought of that ice cream bit, didn't you?

Halloumi is a very satisfying protein with this meal if you add a nice loaf of bread to the fruits and veggies. Straight off of the heat it is salty and soft with a slightly dense, curd-like texture. Heavenly.

Get grilling!

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Grilled Halloumi, Fruits and Vegetables with Rosemary-Chili Vinaigrette

Ingredients:

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp minced rosemary
• 1 Tbsp honey
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1/2 Tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 Tsp chili flakes
• 1/4 Tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Lb Haloumi
• Assorted veggies and fruits to grill

In a small bowl, mix the lemon, rosemary, honey, olive oil, lemon zest, chili flakes, and sea salt to make the vinaigrette. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small cup that will fit on your serving platter. Slice the Halloumi in 1/2 inch thick pieces on the bias, straight up and down or straight through the middle from side to side to create pieces of the desired size. Prepare the veggies and fruits for grilling. For stone fruits, slice them in half and remove the pits. Brush all your grill items lightly with olive oil and begin with the veggies and fruits. When these are done, transfer to a nice serving plate and place the Halloumi slices on the grill in a medium heat zone for about two minutes on each side. You should get nice char marks. Don't worry if you get larger or uneven patches of browning/charring but keep an eye on these guys and don't over do them.

When the cheese is done, move it to the serving platter. You may drizzle the vinaigrette directly over the grilled items or allow each person to dress their own food with the sauce. Slice a loaf of crusty bread and you have a meal! Enjoy!

Yield: 1 Platter for two hungry adults. Sauce will be a scant 1/4 C.