MyGourmetConnection Recipes

Gazpacho soup is a wonderful summer treat - it's cool, refreshing and packs just the right amount of spice. I live in Florida, and I've tried a number of Floribbean-style gazpacho recipes in restaurants that either add mangoes to the classic tomato version or make a chilled mango soup. In looking for something slightly different, I ran across a recipe for "Tomato-Kaffir Lime Salsa" in Ming Tsai's Simply Ming cookbook. I merged the basics of that recipe with a traditional gazpacho and added some fresh mangoes for a summery twist on an old standard.

The kaffir lime leaves add a wonderful perfumey quality, and the mango lends just the right amount of sweetness. If you can't get kaffir lime leaves, increase the lime zest to two limes. With regard to the canned tomatoes, I find that if you use a good-quality brand and add in a couple of fresh tomatoes, the flavor is still quite good. That way, if you don't have easy access to a farmers' market and your supermarket tomatoes look like plastic (as they often do), you can still make a delicious gazpacho!

Mango-Kaffir Gazpacho
Makes Six First-Course Servings

Ingredients ~
3 ripe mangoes, peeled and diced (reserve some for garnish)
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and roughly chopped
3 jalapeno chiles, stemmed and chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
8 to 10 kaffir lime leaves, center stem removed and minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
Grated zest of 1 lime
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablepoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 28-oz can good-quality diced tomatoes, partially drained (Muir Glen Organic is a good choice)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste