Gazpacho with pumpernickel bread ガスパチョ

One hot day my wife decided she wanted a cold soup such as gazpacho but she wasn't in the mood for the acidity of tomatoes. Then she remember that there was a white gazpacho made with nuts. So she looked at several recipes on the internet and put together this one by combining the ingredients from the ones she reviewed. Most of the recipes called for stale white bread (french bread) but she didn't have any french bread so she decided to use what she had which was sliced pumpernickel. The bottom line is that apparently any type of bread will work just fine.

As a result of using pumpernickel the soup is coffee brown in color. If she had used white bread, it would have been white. Toasted pumpernickel bread added toasted and additional flavors besides the color.

Ingredients:
1 cup toasted almonds
1/2 tsp. garlic powder (or roasted garlic cloves to taste)
1/2 tsp. salt
2 to 3 cucumbers peeled and chopped
1 1/2 chicken broth (or vegetable broth)
1/3 cup olive oil
2 Tbs. sushi vinegar
4 slices of pumpernickel bread toasted, crusts removed and torn into pieces (about 2 1/2 cups of pieces)

Directions:
Put some of the cucumbers, nuts and bread into a food processor and puree. Add some of the liquid as needed to get the puree going. Once it is a smooth thick consistency add the garlic, salt, vinegar, the rest of the cucumbers and the rest of the chicken broth. Puree until creamy and smooth. Then with the machine on puree, gradually add the olive oil in a steady stream to make a smooth almost mayonnaise like emulsion.

Serve garnished with sliced cucumber and remaining roasted almonds. If it is too thick dilute with milk, cream, buttermilk or chicken broth. (We found that we like the chicken broth best because it lets the combined flavors shine through. )

This soup is great for a hot summer day. It is rich and creamy. It has a pleasant nuttiness from the almonds and pumpernickel but the cucumbers give is a light freshness. The flavors get better over time. Next time we may try making this kind of soup using other nuts such as walnuts or pecans.