The heat is back and for respite we look to our food to keep us cool! shares this special recipe, which is a departure from the regular cold soups that you know of.
Fermented Roots and Bengal Gram Gazpacho
Prep time: 20 minutes (+ 2 days fermenting time)
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4
Ingredients
700 g baby carrots, grated
400 g golden beets, raw and grated
250 g celery, chopped
100 g sprig of basil
200 g roasted chana (Sattu or Bengal Gram)
Pink salt to taste
100 g fermented plums
75 ml raw honey
100 g yellow cherry tomatoes, chopped
60 ml white wine vinegar
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
For The Garnish
50 g blanched cherry tomato
20 ml extra virgin olive oil
Method
- Place the grated carrots and beets into a bowl along with the basil, salt, raw honey and fermented plums. Transfer the mixture into a deep dish and push down to compress the vegetables. Cover and leave to ferment in the fridge for at least two days, until the vegetables develop a slight acidity.
- Once the fermentation process has finished, remove the vegetables from the fridge and puree them in a blender. Add the yellow cherry tomatoes and blend until you have a smooth mix. Pass this through a fine sieve and season to taste with a little vinegar, extra virgin olive oil and salt.
- Place the celery in a saucepan and cook for 10 minutes with the lid on, remove from the heat and add a little extra virgin olive oil and salt. Mix and allow to cool. When cool, blend the celery with water and sattu powder to obtain a smooth texture. (TIP: At this point, you can smoke it over live charcoal with charcoal, rosemary and olive oil, but this is optional.) Mix this with the fermented root vegetable puree, and chill.
- To serve, pour the chilled gazpacho into a bowl or deep plate, sprinkle with blanched tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil.
- Enjoy!