Cookaholics Bulletin Board

As always, one of the things I look forward to most in summer (since I hate heat!) is gazpacho, once I get a LOT of ripe tomatoes. I've never been one for using bread to thicken it, as it sort of forms a spongy surface on it, that has to be mixed back in, plus it sort of dilutes the flavor. I'd rather eat the bread on the side! But last night I got an idea for it when I took a container of leftover fruit smoothie out of my fridge that was almost gelled, and I remembered what did this - chia seeds! And I put them in smoothies and that type of thing all the time, and have to put some water in, otherwise they are almost solid. This is what gave me the idea for the chia seeds.

I put about 1 tb chia seeds per qt of soup, which was a bit too much (i.e. too thick), and what I did was blended some of the tomatoes until totally liquid, then added the seeds while running, then turned it off immediately, and let them soak about 15 min, to let them gel. Then I blended it, and it got so thick I had to pour it out, and dilute it with half the rest of the tomatoes, and do this twice. There were none of the seeds visible, but this was in the Vitamix, which also grinds every bit of tomato seeds into oblivion. It was about the right thickness at first, but thickened more overnight. No flavor from the seeds, that I noticed.

Thanks for this tip, too Dave. Genius idea

Thanks Dave, I agree with Ilene, genius. I too hate bread in Gazpacho so I omit it, but then it does not have the right consistency. I just bought some chia seeds, so I will definitely try it but start with maybe 2 tsps. per your comments.

I've not heard of chia seeds, tell me about them please.

Laurie

Laurie, I had the same question, since all I kept thinking was Chia Pets. Here's a link I found that had some good information:
http://www.canadianliving.com/food/cooking_school/4_great_ways_to_use_chia_seeds.php

As that link states, the seeds gel when soaked, and this is what thickens the smoothies, and now, my gazpacho. If you have ever made Asian sweet basil seed drink, the chia seeds look almost just like this when soaked in water for about 5 min. I have gotten them really cheap in deals (buy xxx and get 1 lb chia for $5, and that type of thing) from Swanson and Vitacost online, and recently the local Amish marked has started selling them in their bulk food area, so they have become very popular.

Hmmm,

Interesting alternative; I knew vaguely that chia seeds were good for something other than John The Baptist Head*, and now I know what.

For my part, I've never had the issue with the bread you do; you must add a lot more bread to your gazpacho. I add around 1 cup cubed stale bread for 2 qt gazpacho.

(* sadly, this product seems to no longer be available)