Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

Before I even write another word, I'll confess- I am currently addicted to tomatoes. I just cannot seem to get enough, and right now they are everywhere.  I buy them even when I don't really need them,  solely because they're pretty sometimes, it's become a good problem to have.  A few weeks ago I went to a produce sale at the LSU Ag-Center- 15 minutes later I was loading my car with about thirty pounds of the most beautiful heirlooms. Yes, thirty! I know that is a LOT of tomatoes, but I had the best time choosing them and later making Gazpacho, beautiful salads, and the most wonderful preserves.  I made a tomato marmalade with saffron, which if I say so myself was out of this world- I'll be using it at work in my catering business, Gourmet Girls.  

At home for dinner, we had Jumbo lump Crabmeat Gazpacho.  This is my favorite type of dinner in the summer.  Cooking seasonally by utilizing foods which are in their prime makes eating and preparing meals a joyful experience for me.  I think most of us eat with our eyes first,  what I came across labeled as Paleo on Pinterest and other venues was sometimes not too appetizing to me. While the food might have tasted good, it certainly was not inspiring me to run and cook it for dinner.  I need pretty in my life, with food in particular.  I hope through this blog I can inspire others to prepare meals in a healthy manner; cooking seasonally from farm to table, using locally grown and organic ingredients.

While I am not a fan of storing tomatoes in the refrigerator, I was surprised to find that the leftover Gazpacho was actually really good a day later.  I would not recommend making it more than several hours early, just make sure to add the crabmeat right before serving.  I made this a few weeks ago, and after looking at the photos again, I cannot wait to make it again.  I hope you like it as much as I did!

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Jumbo Lump Crabmeat

6 ripe heirloom tomatoes, diced (reserve all the seeds and juices)

1 small red onion, finely chopped

1 cucumber, peeled and seeded and cut into 1/4" slices

2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and cut into 1/4" cubes

2 yellow bell peppers, cored, seeded and cut into 1/4" cubes

1 jalapeno pepper, cored, veined, seeded, and finely minced

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

4 tablespoons red wine vinegar

juice of 1 lemon

1 teaspoon Tabasco, or to taste (I like spicy)

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/2 teaspoon cumin

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb. fresh Jumbo Lump Crabmeat, lightly picked for shells.

1. In a large non-reactive bowl, combine the tomatoes and their juices, onion, cucumber, and peppers.  Add red wine vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil and tabasco.  

2. With a couple of forks squish the vegetables into a juicy soup, making sure to leave plenty of big pieces.  Add salt, cumin and black pepper tasting as you go.  Add cilantro then refrigerate the soup for at least an hour before serving.

3. Ladle the Gazpacho into soup bowls, add crabmeat and serve.

Makes 8 servings

Asian Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Dipping Sauce

My favorite part about living in South Louisiana is that fresh seafood is aplenty, crab and shrimp in particular. It's so easy to prepare in a healthy manner and still have outstanding flavor.  There is no need to make sauces laden with cream. The grilled shrimp are very tasty; the turmeric in the marinade is unexpected and adds such depth.  What makes this recipe remarkable though, (apart from the size of the shrimp) is the sauce.  If you like spicy, herby, and fiery Asian inspired sauces then this is the shrimp dish for you.  I want to put this sauce on everything!  Both the shrimp and sauce fit the Paleo diet well.  I also prepared grilled zucchini spears tossed in olive oil with sea salt and black pepper, which made for a delicious, light, healthy, quick grilled meal.


A note about fish sauce- they are not all created equal.  I buy mine from an Asian market in town, the brand is 3 Crabs.  I have tried others and find the 3 Crabs brand to be far superior in taste, in addition to having a lower sodium content than the other brands I have tried.


I'm pretty lucky when it comes to buying seafood, it's delivered to my door at work- fresh and recently caught.  If I was having to buy at a market though, I would look for a place which has a lot of turnover.  Shrimp should not smell well, "shrimpy." They should smell like the sea without any type of an offending odor.  Shrimp are sized by numbers, the numbers mean the number of shrimp per pound.  For example, 21-25 shrimp means that there are between 21 and 25 shrimp per pound.  U-12 shrimp means there are approximately 12 shrimp per pound.  The smaller the number, the larger the shrimp.  If you purchase the shrimp a day or so before you plan to use them, place them in a plastic bag inside a bowl of ice in the refrigerator.  The ice bath will keep the shrimp fresh longer without freezing them.


Asian Grilled Shrimp with Cilantro Dipping Sauce


2 pounds head-on fresh jumbo shrimp, (I used U-12 count unpeeled shrimp)


Marinade:
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon turmeric


1. In a large bowl, whisk together fish sauce, olive oil and turmeric.  Add shrimp and toss to combine.  Allow the shrimp to marinate for 30 minutes.


Cilantro Dipping Sauce:
1/4 cup fish sauce
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups roughly chopped cilantro
2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
8 garlic cloves
2" piece of peeled fresh ginger, roughly chopped
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
Optional- 1 teaspoon brown sugar


1. In the bowl of a food processor combine all dipping sauce ingredients and pulse until a coarse mixture forms.  Transfer the dipping sauce to a small serving bowl and set aside.


Grilling the shrimp:
You can either use a stove top grill pan or an outdoor grill, I've used both finding good results either way.


Build a medium hot fire in a charcoal grill or heat the stove top grill pan over high heat.  If using a gas grill, heat to high.  Oil grill grates or pan.  Place shrimp on grill and cook turning occasionally, until shrimp are a little charred and cooked through.  The time will vary depending on the size of the shrimp, for jumbo shrimp 5-6 minutes.  Serve with dipping sauce. 

About

My name is Katia, and I write this blog.

I live in Louisiana, but was born in San Salvador.  I love food. Actually, I'm obsessed with it. It’s my work and my passion.  I feel very fortunate that they’re the same. I've been in the food industry for 21 years, my latest and favorite venture being Gourmet Girls, a boutique catering shoppe in Baton Rouge.  I create fresh, healthy, beautiful food with the highest quality ingredients available, and I love to see people enjoying it!

My other blog, Gourmet Girl, chronicles my catering business. This blog will show how I eat at home with simple foods, which are family friendly and contribute to staying healthy and fit. 

I came across the Paleo lifestyle about a year ago and have been learning about it ever since. I began to cook meals for my boyfriend who had been following this plan for several years.  At the beginning it was a huge challenge, in that it was radically different from what I was used to.  What I noticed is that while the diet seemed somewhat stringent to me at the time, he was quite happy, healthy, and fit and had been doing this with ease. I had a difficult time imagining how I was going to effectively cook in this manner, (no bread, no sugar, no milk, no pasta and again... no sugar!).  After I stopped being stubborn, I realized that it centers on the foods I actually enjoy the most- vegetables.  I started focusing more on what was allowed and less on what was being left out.  Making meatballs fluffy without bread and milk was my first and biggest challenge. I soon saw that trying to re-create some foods using substitutions is not the way to go about this. A cookie should taste like a cookie, sweet and satisfying. I would rather eliminate those things or eat them only occasionally than sacrifice flavor.  

What you'll find here is easy to prepare, fresh, healthy, and seasonal foods that you can make at home any day of the week, even if you only have an hour or less to prepare dinner. 

Thanks so much for stopping by.