Gazpacho with sauteed scallops offers a tasty slice of Spain
Mother Nature has a sixth sense for when we’re reaching our temperature breaking point. At the very same moment your hot oven becomes unwelcome, a tomato is being plucked from the vine and a cucumber is being nestled into its stall at the farm stand.
It feels rather serendipitous that the stars of the mid-summer bounty, like tomatoes, cucumbers, and bright peppers, shine when they are cold and raw. For some of us, a sliced tomato sprinkled with sea salt is the primary motivation to survive winter. And even if you aren’t quite that passionate, you can surely still appreciate any recipe whose method is as easy as “Slice, sprinkle, eat.”
In the U.S., our access to local hot-weather produce is limited to a short few months. But elsewhere in the world, like along the Mediterranean coastline, fresh fruits and vegetables are a year-round luxury. And while countries like Italy, France and Spain have lent us some rather advanced techniques and recipes, there is nothing more Mediterranean than a simple dish that showcases its ingredients.
This is especially evident in a recipe like Gazpacho with
Sauteed Scallops. A quick scan of the ingredients reveals a simple dish, with little added to enhance the natural flavours of the summer vegetables. It is only with the most flavourful tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers that this soup can shine — just as it would on a hot day along the coast of Spain.
Gazpacho is a traditional Spanish soup, and while there are a number of variations, this one is served cold and is perfect for a hot summer dinner al fresco. Most commonly, chilled gazpacho is a blended combination of tomatoes, cucumbers, and garlic, but it’s not uncommon to see peppers, onions, and even day-old bread added
to the mix.
We like serving gazpacho with hot sauteed scallops for a fun temperature contrast, but you can serve yours alongside simple cold sandwiches, grilled meat or fish, or even on its own for a bite with cocktails.
Oh, and we forgot to mention the best thing about this recipe: You can make it the day ahead and then, obviously, you don’t even have to reheat it. That means you can make this on Saturday in basically zero minutes, and then on Sunday, you can sit in your backyard, stream some Flamenco music, and sip Spanish wine while you pretend the wind from your neighbour’s leaf blower is actually a cool Mediterranean breeze. La dolce vida!