As the days go by, I am becoming more and more convinced that raw foodies are on to something. I am not going to become a 100% convert any day soon for a variety of reasons, but I am definitely going to be incorporating some of the amazingly flavourful recipes that appear in their uncookbooks. Without trying, more and more of my food is being eaten raw just because it tastes and feels so good. These past few weeks, I have been enjoying salad practically every day for lunch, and raw soups appear to be another route I can explore.
I have eaten gazpacho in a few different ways before and a few other soups which are traditionally served raw. I’ve also previously made a Natalia Rose pineapple based soup and enjoyed that, so I wasn’t going too far out of the ordinary (for me, at least) to make the pineapple gazpacho from Raw Food Real World. One of the first things that caught my eye with this recipe was the inclusion of nuts. I like it when I come across something that makes me pause and imagine just how that will be. Intuitively, adding macadamias to a pineapple soup sounded just perfect. A little bit of tropicana in our living room.
We ate it sitting on our couch together. Me thoroughly enjoying the multitude of textures and clean flavors and Andy telling me emphatically that he is very happy with me exploring more and more raw food recipes.
Pineapple Gazpacho adapted from Raw Food Real World
Ingredients:
1 pineapple
Small handful of chives
1 jalapeno chilli (I used a red one)
1 telegraph cucumber
1/2 cup freshly prepared pineapple juice
A good squeeze of lime juice
Small handful of raw macadamia nuts
1 tbsp cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
Small handful of fresh cilantro
Cut off a section of pineapple and run it through the juicer to produce a half cup of juice. Chop the cucumber and rest of the pineapple into small pieces, as though you were making a chunky salsa. Add all but a half cup of each into a large bowl.
Into the large bowl with most of the pineapple and cucumber add the pineapple and lime juices and snip the chives directly into it using your kitchen scissors. Finely chop the jalapeno and add that too. Give the mixture a quick stir, and then blend until smooth using an immersion blender.
Add the reserved cucumber and pineapple in, the olive oil and most of the cilantro. Briefly blend again for a few seconds, and then put the bowl in the fridge for about ten minutes.
Meanwhile, chop the macadamia nuts.
Before serving, stir in the chopped macadamias and their shards. Spoon into two bowls and garnish with the reserved cilantro.
[...] you know from previous posts, I am a lover of blended raw soups. They’re quick, easy and super satisfying. They’re also a good place to start [...]