Sushi at Home

After a month of no classes, vacation and a particularly hot summer in my third-floor kitchen, I was not feeling motivated to do any cooking. However, on Sunday, I was spurred on to make sushi at home. My friend Jack knew I'd taken a non-credit class last year at JWU. Neither of us felt quite confident enough to do it alone, but ineptitude loves company, I always say. After church we shopped at Reliable Market in Union Square. Some of the items were on the pricey side, but it was nice to go somewhere really close. Maybe a Super 88 or C Mart next time. We picked out rice, vinegars, seaweeds (khombu for flavoring and nori for wrapping), seasonings, rolling mats, vegetables, and of course the fish and roe. For fish, we chose tuna and salmon, along with flying fish roe. It took us, plus Annie G., two hours of reviewing my class notes, cooking the rice, and chopping vegetables and fish to be ready to roll! Sadly, I was only able to eat six rolls and a little sashimi that day. Fortunately we had plenty to make lunches for the next day. Now that I've got all the base ingredients and tools (except for a hangiri, if anyone is feeling spendy), I'll be doing it again soon. Your house this time?

The photos are listed below because we took a bunch and this way they have room to stretch out.

Creamy Gazpacho Andaluz*

Serves 4 to 6. Published July 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.

For ideal flavor, allow the gazpacho to sit in the refrigerator overnight before serving. Red wine vinegar can be substituted for the sherry vinegar. Although we prefer to use kosher salt in this soup, half the amount of table salt can be used. Serve the soup with additional extra-virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar, ground black pepper, and diced vegetables for diners to season and garnish their own bowls as desired.

Ingredients

• 3 pounds (about 6 medium) ripe tomatoes, cored
• 1 small cucumber , peeled, halved, and seeded
• 1 medium green bell pepper, halved, cored and seeded
• 1 small red onion, peeled and halved
• 2 medium garlic cloves, peeled and quartered
• 1 small serrano chile, stemmed and halved lengthwise
• Kosher salt (see note)
• 1 slice high-quality white sandwich bread, crust removed, torn into 1-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for serving
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar, plus extra for serving (see note)
• 2 tablespoons finely minced parsley, chives, or basil leaves
• Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Roughly chop 2 pounds of tomatoes, half of cucumber, half of bell pepper, and half of onion and place in large bowl. Add garlic, chile, and 1½ teaspoons salt; toss until well combined. Set aside.
2. Cut remaining tomatoes, cucumber, and pepper into ¼-inch dice; place vegetables in medium bowl. Mince remaining onion and add to diced vegetables. Toss with ½ teaspoon salt and transfer to fine-mesh strainer set over medium bowl. Set aside 1 hour. 
3. Transfer drained diced vegetables to medium bowl and set aside. Add bread pieces to exuded liquid (there should be about ¼ cup) and soak 1 minute. Add soaked bread and any remaining liquid to roughly chopped vegetables and toss thoroughly to combine.
4. Transfer half of vegetable-bread mixture to blender and process 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly drizzle in ¼ cup oil and continue to blend until completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain soup through fine-mesh strainer into large bowl, using back of ladle or rubber spatula to press soup through strainer. Repeat with remaining vegetable-bread mixture and 1/4 cup olive oil. 
5. Stir vinegar, minced herb, and half of diced vegetables into soup and season to taste with salt and black pepper. Cover and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours to chill completely and develop flavors. Serve, passing remaining diced vegetables, olive oil, sherry vinegar, and black pepper separately.

Technique: Achieving the Best Creamy Consistency
The trick to smooth, fully blended texture is all in how you add the olive oil.


BROKEN
Adding all of the oil at once prevents it from blending properly with the vegetables, resulting in a greasy consistency.


PERFECTLY CREAMY
Slowly drizzling in the oil helps the mixture emulsify, for a soup that is silky and rich—but not the least bit greasy.

*This is one I tested before the magazine went to publication.