This particular elected official, who represents the 14th district of the State of Georgia, tried to evoke many things with that statement. There is the reference to the gulag, which was the prison system of the Soviet Union from 1918 to 1955. This not a particularly apt comparison. While the D.C. jail definitely has its issues (by way of example, overflowing sewage, lack of adequate medical care, and a history of violence), an estimated 1.2 million to 1.7 million died in the Soviet gulags.
And then there is the Representative's reference to the Nazi gestapo, the Geheime Staatspolizei, or German Secret Police, which enforced the brutal and inhumane policies of Adolf Hitler's Nazi regime. Except, this particularly uninformed Republican Representative called referred to that organization as the gazpacho. Gazpacho is a cold soup from Andalusia, Spain. It is the furthest thing from Herman Goring's conception of a secret police force, or Reinhard Heydrich's utilization of that force to facilitate the Holocaust, murdering millions of Jews, Poles, and Soviets, along with hundreds of thousands of Roma (or Romany) and disabled people. (The estimates exceed 17 million being killed during the Holocaust).
GAZPACHO CON BOGAVANTE
Recipe from Jose Andres, available at Food Network
Serves 6
Ingredients (for the gazpacho)
- 2 pounds of tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
- 1/2 green pepper, seeded and diced
- 1 cup of water
- 6 tablespoons of Spanish extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
- 3 ounces of bread, torn into small pieces
- Kosher salt
Ingredients (for the lobster and dressing):
- 2 (1 1/4 pound lobsters)
- Kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- 10 tablespoons Spanish extra virgin olive oil
Ingredients (for the garnish):
- 4 plum tomatoes
- 1 cucumber peeled
- Kosher salt, as needed
- 1 red pepper, seeded, cut into tiny dice
- 1 green pepper, seeded and cut into tiny dice
- 2 shallots, cut into tiny dice
- Olive oil, for frying
- 4 (1/2 thick) slices of bread, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
- Spanish extra virgin olive oil to garnish
- Minced chives
- Fleur de sel, to garnish
Directions:
1. Make the gazpacho. In small batches, mix all of the ingredients in a blender until very smooth. Pay attention to the consistency. You my have to add more water, as the water content in the ingredients may vary. Strain and chill.
2. Make the lobster and dressing. Fill a large pot with water and add plenty of salt. Bring to a boil and add lobsters. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from water, drain and chill. Once the lobsters are cool, take off the head and remove the coral and liquid. Pass the coral through a chinois or fine-mesh sieve. Set aside the resulting liquid for use in the dressing. Peel lobster tails and cut each tail into 6 medallions. Carefully crack the claws and remove the meat. The idea here is to keep the claw meat whole. Split the claw meat in half lengthwise. Refrigerate the lobster until needed.
3. Prepare the dressing. In a bowl, whisk together the reserved coral, vinegar and oil until smooth and blended. Season with salt to taste. Set aside.
4. Make the garnish. Cut the ends off the tomatoes, cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise. Peel back the skin and flesh to expose the seeds. Remove the seeds, taking care to keep the mass whole. The point here is to remove the tomato seeds and their surrounding gel intact. Set aside. (Reserve the tomato flesh for another use.)
5. Continue to make the garnish. Cut the cucumber in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Sprinkler the cucumber generously with salt and let sit for an hour in a colander in the sink. (The salt will cause the cucumber to release water.) Rinse the cucumber and pat dry with paper towels. Cut the cucumber into a tiny dice. In a bowl, combine the cucumber, peppers and shallot. set aside.
6. Fry the bread. Pour the oil for frying into a large saucepan to a depth of 2 inches. Heat over medium heat until a deep fry thermometer inserted into the oil reads 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Fry the bread cubes until golden brown. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the croutons to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
7. Finish the dish. Pour the chilled gazpacho in a pitcher. In the center of each bowl, place 2 lobster medallions, 1 claw half and 1 tomato seed "fillet." Arrange some of the cucumber mixture around the edge of the blow, sprinkle with chives and top with 4 croutons. Drizzle the dressing around the lobster and drizzle the lobster with some of the extra-virgin olive oil. Finally sprinkle everything lightly with the fleur de sel. At the table, set the bowls in front of your guests and pour some of the gazpacho into each.
ENJOY!
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