Locavores (those who eat only locally grown food) love Chef Conlan's cuisine, made mostly from ingredients grown in the destination spa's 1,000-species garden. You can re-create this gorgeous gazpacho with close-to-home farmer's market finds, "but good quality canned tomatoes make an excellent—and much easier—soup," says Conlan, who riffs on the traditional red gazpacho by using yellow tomatoes, thus making the recipe more modern, and more Mexican. Culinary speaking, "if you want to improve your Spanish, this is the perfect refresher course," he jokes. For a boost of protein, Conlan recommends adding a couple of chilled shrimp to each bowl. Each flavorful serving is just 100 calories, with fat totaling a negligible 4 grams, a culinary feat that Conlan teaches in the intensive Summer Cooking Workshop Series he leads at Lake Austin. —Melisse Gelula

SPA LIVING

Spa Cuisine

Golden gazpacho

Recipe by: Terry Conlan, Lake Austin Spa Resort, Texas, USA. Read more at SpaFinder

Great for: Locavores, time-impaired cooks, calorie-counters, carbohydrate-avoiders

Test-kitchen notes: I was pretty lazy, and didn't bother to peel the tomatoes and it came out fine. I also added cilantro as a garnish. Next time, I'll try this Italian style, and leave out the Tabasco, and add aged balsamic before serving.

Golden Gazpacho
(4 servings)

1 yellow bell pepper, roasted
1 cup minced onion
3/4 cup peeled, seeded, and diced cucumber
2 minced garlic cloves
5 peeled yellow tomatoes or 1 (30-ounce) can yellow tomatoes
1/2 cup cold water
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp fresh dill
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp Tabasco sauce
Optional: 8 cooked, peeled, and chilled shrimp

To roast the bell pepper, bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes or until charred; remove it from the oven and place it in small paper bag, tightly closed, for 10 minutes to loosen the skin; remove the pepper from the bag, peel, and seed it.

Purée the pepper, onion, cucumber, garlic, and tomatoes in a blender or food processor. Add the water, salt, dill, vinegar, olive oil, and Tabasco and pulse until well mixed. Pour into a covered, portable container, and refrigerate until completely chilled. Serve cold.

December 3, 2008




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