This Sunday at the Hillcrest Farmers Market we were joined by Chef Hanis Cavin of Kensington Grill and his sidekick sous chef, "B", for our monthly Visiting Chef Series. The two prepared a delicious gazpacho topped with blackened shrimp, jicama, and micro cilantro.
Gazpacho is a chilled soup typically made with a tomato base and a variety of vegetables and herbs. Chef Hanis used tomatoes, red and green bell peppers, red onion, jalepeno, and worcestershire sauce. He advised the crowd not to use salt because gazpacho is typically a sweeter soup, and while salt is a very important ingredient to many recipes, this is the first part of the meal and sets the stage for everything else.
We also talked a lot about the peppers- jalapeno's are just little bell peppers, and their heat is in their seeds. Depending on the level of spicy-ness that you're looking for will depend on how much of the peppers you add to your soup. If you love it, then load it up! Chef Hanis let us know that when chopping up your peppers you want to remove the white part on the inside of the pepper- it's bitter and won't add good flavor to your dish.
After prepping the soup Chef Hanis tossed the shrimp and some secret house seasoning (we could tell you but then we'd have to kill you) into a pan for just a couple of minutes. It's important when cooking seafood that you don't let them cook for longer than necessary- they don't need much time and overcooking will remove the tenderness of the fish.
When it was all done he scooped some soup into little cups and passed it off to B who topped it with diced jicama, shrimp, and micro cilantro. YUM! It was the perfect meal for a hot afternoon.
Join us next week for our Info Booth Luau, and Tie-Dye on August 7th! BYO dyeable item or make a donation to get a t-shirt from us! Check back here and hillcrestfarmersmarket.com for all of your market updates!
Stay Fresh & Fabulous, we'll see you next week!
