With rising temperatures, the body asks for cooler dishes. Give it the nutrients it needs without sacrificing flavor with these 4 delicious cold creams.
Rising temperatures can make you feel less hungry or tired, but that’s no reason to neglect your diet.
These 4 cold creams (very easy to prepare) are so delicious that they will open your appetite and will serve to combat the heat: a cold cream of vegetable yogurt and vegetables with the aroma of cilantro, a nutritious ajoblanco with grapes of two colors, a light gazpacho with melon and, finally, a soft cream of avocados with thyme.
4 RECIPES OF VERY TASTY AND APPETIZING COLD CREAMS
AJOBLANCO WITH TWO-COLOR GRAPES
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 250 g raw marcona almonds
- 3 slices of bread sitting from the day before, only the crumb
- 2 garlic cloves
- 600 ml cold mineral water
- 12 black grape grains
- 12 white grape grains
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
- 4 tablespoons olive oil and salt
Preparation (15′ + 1 night of rest)
- Place the almonds in the blender along with the bread, garlic cloves, salt and vinegar, and crush everything with a little water.
- When it is fine, add the rest of the water and grind again. Season with the oil, rectify salt and store it in the fridge.
- To serve it you can strain it, although if it has been very thin it is not necessary. Wash the grapes and cut them in half to remove the seeds. Serve very cold and with the grapes as a side of it. You can decorate it with a splash of olive oil.
Variant:
When crushing the ajoblanco you can add 6 or 7 peeled and seedless grape grains to give a fresh and slightly acidic touch to the dish, although it is advisable to moderate the amount of vinegar. You can also add other chopped fruits, such as apple or mango with black grapes, or melon, with white grapes.
GAZPACHO WITH MELON
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 3 tomatoes, peeled and very chopped
- 1 bell pepper, green, cut into small pieces
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 spring onion, cut into strips
- 1 carrot, cut into pieces
- 1 apple, diced
- half melon, diced
- 1 loaf of village bread from the previous day
- Toasting bread
- 4 tablespoons olive oil, one and a half vinegar and salt
Preparation (15′ + 30′ cooking):
- Crush the garlic cloves with a pinch of salt in a large mortar, removing the germ before if you want a softer gazpacho. Add the pepper, tomatoes and bread crumb soaked in water. Mix and water with oil and vinegar while stirring.
- Transfer the mixture to a large bowl. Pour a liter of water, mix well with a wooden spoon and add the spring onion, melon, carrot and apple.
- Serve in four individual bowls with freshly toasted bread.
- A different touch: Instead of melon, you can use pineapple, mango or watermelon.
COLD CREAM OF VEGETABLE YOGURT AND VEGETABLES WITH CILANTRO
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 500 g vegetable yogurt
- 1 escalonia, peeled and chopped
- 75 g zucchini cut into tacos
- 75 g pumpkin, peeled and diced
- 1 red bell pepper, cut into tacos
- 1 bunch fresh cilantro
- olive oil
- salt
Preparation (15’+3′ cooking + 2 h. d rest)
- Put a wok on the fire with a little olive oil and, when hot, add the escalonia, zucchini, pumpkin and pepper.
- Pour a little salt and sauté the vegetables for a few minutes, over high heat, constantly turning them with a wooden spatula so that they do not adhere.
- Chop the cilantro finely and add it to the vegetables at the last moment, when they are golden but still crispy.
- Remove the wok from the heat and pour the yogurt. Stir well and spread into four individual glasses or bowls.
- Place the creams in the fridge and reserve them until serving. They are served very cold.
CREAM OF AVOCADOS WITH THYME
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 4 avocados
- 2 ripe red tomatoes
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 600 ml vegetable broth
- the juice of half a lemon
- a sprig of fresh thyme
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- virgin olive oil and salt
Preparation (15’+15′ cooking + 30′ resting):
- Heat a good splash of oil in a thick-bottomed casserole, pour the onion and sauté until it becomes transparent. Pour the broth and cook over low heat for ten minutes. Remove from heat.
- Peel the avocados and drizzle them with the lemon juice. Add to the onion and crush everything until you get a fine cream. Go through the Chinese strainer and let cool in the fridge.
- Peel and peel the tomatoes. Cut them into cubes, season with thyme and chopped garlic, salt and drizzle with oil.
- Serve the cream in individual bowls decorated with the seasoned tomato.
Variant:
The cream is delicious if you replace the onion with the white part of one or two leeks.
