I love giving you 15-minute recipes, but once in a while there comes a dish that is worth the extra effort. This Layered Summer Vegetable Torte is just that. Yes, you have to grill some vegetables and make a simple vinaigrette, but this is a hearty, delicious, veggie-centric showstopper. Every summer I have a few recipes that I put on repeat when I entertain at home, and this was one of my go-to’s from the Summer of 2021 and now it’s back in the rotation!Continue reading
Spicy Caesar Salad with Toasted Breadcrumbs Recipe
If you’ve been to Jon & Vinny’s in LA, you may recognize this salad which they call Gem Lettuce, Calabrian Chili Dressing, Parmigiano, & Bread Crumbs.  It’s basically a spicy Caesar salad with the most delicious breadcrumbs and baby romaine leaves. It’s insanely good and worth every bit of the $16.50 they charge for one portion. Or is it? Well, we can make it at home and it’s just as good, friends! I make it all the time when I have people over or we want a really great Caesar. Ok, let’s do it!Continue reading
Shrimp and Melon “Ceviche” Recipe
I am obsessed with ceviche and I order it all the time at my local Mexican restaurant as an appetizer or as a light dinner. I was in Mexico last fall and had the most amazing sweet and spicy ceviche made from local white fish, mango, avocado and I couldn’t stop thinking about how you can truly combine any fish with a juicy seasonal fruit + lime juice + onion + a spicy ingredient and it’s just addictive. Ceviche is normally made with raw seafood and the citrus juice “cooks” the fish which denatures the protein networks, similar to cooking with heat. That’s why the color changes to opaque and the flesh gets firmer after sitting in a citrus marinade. Here’s the deal – you need to be 100% confident that you are starting with the freshest of fresh seafood because no amount of lime juice is going to obliterate parasites and other nastiness. So, when I make ceviche at home, I give the seafood a quick cook! You can choose to get sushi grade fish and not precook it of course.Continue reading
Pasta with Melted Zucchini Sauce Recipe
This pasta recipe is the ultimate summer dish! My entire family goes crazy for it. I accidentally overcooked some zucchini once and saw that it turned a bit mushy, almost like a sauce and immediately thought it would be delicious over pasta. And it was!! I taught this recipe in a class early last summer and received rave reviews from my students too! After I filmed the class, I saw a similar recipe on Smitten Kitchen for “zucchini butter spaghetti.” It is a pure coincidence and I came up with this recipe on my own. My recipe uses quite a bit more zucchini, less butter and cheese, and the addition of shallot and lemon which I think makes the dish!Â
Greek Shrimp with Tomatoes and Feta Recipe
I can eat shrimp any which way and my kids love it too, so I always keep it in the freezer for a quick weeknight meal. I buy wild peeled and deveined frozen shrimp from my local Costco and either defrost it all day in the fridge or take the shrimp I want and defrost it in cold water (usually takes about 15 minutes.) This preparation is healthy, light, easy, and QUICK!! It is packed with flavor and goes beautifully over rice, cauli rice, potatoes or toasted bread.Continue reading
Lemon-Ricotta Soufflé with Blueberries Recipe
I’m back! It was a perfect 11 days in NY and we ended on a high note, which is always good. On the flight home, I seemed to have developed a little sore throat something or other, so I’ll be testing all the time until I figure it out. In the meantime, let’s have some blueberry soufflé fun!Continue reading
Green Gazpacho Recipe
I love soup of all kinds and make it at least once a week, if not two or three times a week during the school year. Soup is very digestible, filling, easy to load up with vegetables, and most soup recipes are flexible, which is my JAM! During the summer, I don’t make quite as many soups for obvious reasons, but I do enjoy a cold soup once a week. Salmorejo is my absolute favorite and then this “green gazpacho” is a close second. I have others too that I like – corn chowder, traditional gazpacho, fresh tomato soup, and the zucchini-leek soup from my cookbook, Quicker Than Quick, which I enjoy at room temperature.
Why you’ll love this recipe:Â
- Can be made in advance;
- It’s a fun twist on traditional tomato-based gazpacho and less acidic;
- Fast and easy recipe – blend and chill;
- Super refreshing!Â
Green Gazpacho Ingredients
- Persian cucumbers: make up the base of this cold soup. You could use regular cucumbers, but I would probably peel the skin.Â
- Avocado: adds a nice creaminess to the soup and helps make it filling.Â
- Scallions: are milder than regular onions. If a recipe doesn’t indicate which part of the onion to use, it means you will use the entire thing.Â
- Garlic cloves: are a great antibacterial and antiviral food. I like to keep a jar of peeled garlic (I do it myself) in the fridge to use throughout the week. It’s a game-changer!
- Apple cider vinegar: is great for gut health and can help with blood sugar stability. Look for a raw and unfiltered.Â
- Lemon juice: Adds a nice punchiness to the soup. I prefer using freshly squeezed juice.Â
- Olive oil: use an unrefined olive oil or best flavor.Â
How to Make Green Gazpacho
- Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth with a velvety texture. Refrigerate until chilled. Top with your choice of garnishes. It’s that easy!
Tips for Making Green Gazpacho
- Double recipe to serve more, but do it in batches since your blender can only accommodate one recipe’s worth of ingredients.
- Use thin skinned cucumbers such as Persian or hothouse. If you use standard cucumbers, you may want to peel the skin and remove some of the big seeds.
- Plan ahead and make this far enough in advance that you can chill it throughout before serving.
- Add toppings! Pureed soups love a contrast in textures. Add seafood or croutons or chopped herbs, for example.
- If you can’t eat raw garlic, omit it and swap in a garlic-infused olive oil. O Olive Oil makes a good one!
Serving Suggestions for Green Gazpacho
- Cooked crab or shrimp, chives, croutons, or a drizzle of olive oil
- You can serve this as a first course, or a meal with the addition of protein, or in shot glasses for a fun and refreshing hors d’oeuvres.
- This will last for 5 days in the fridge without turning brown. The acid in the soup helps keep the avocado from changing color.
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If you give this recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Lastly, subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes and updates.
For more delicious recipes and to learn how to be a better cook, check out my monthly online cooking classes. I have been teaching people for 15 years how to cook healthy food that their families love! Join me!
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You can shop the tools I used to make this recipe by clicking on the images below:Â
- 7 Persian cucumbers including the skin and seeds, cut into chunks
- 1 ripe but firm avocado, pitted and peeled
- 4 scallions, white and green parts chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 3-4 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 juicy lemon)
- ¼ cup water (feel free to use more to thin the soup out further)
- ¼ cup unrefined, cold-pressed extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons sea salt + more to taste
- Garnish suggestions: chives, croutons, cooked crab or shrimp, drizzle of olive oil
- Add all ingredients to a blender. Blend until completely smooth with a velvety texture. Refrigerate until chilled. Top with your choice of garnishes.
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Lemon-Garlic Aquafaba Dressing Recipe
Little secret – I love using vegan mayo in salad dressings when I want a thick and creamy dressing. I am not a mayo fan otherwise, and I especially do not care for traditional egg-based mayonnaise. It’s too eggy tasting for me. I’m not trying to yuck on your yum! But I know a lot of people do not like using mayonnaise for a variety of reasons. Other swaps may include raw cashew butter + water, Greek yogurt, or aquafaba, the liquid leftover from cooking chickpeas. I shared an aquafaba chocolate mousse recipe recently and now I want to share a totally different way to use this unique ingredient that you have probably thrown away a thousand times: in salad dressing!Continue reading