Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho

My son hated my pineapple-cucumber gazpacho. Ha-ha-hated it. To be honest, I didn't like it either. Fortunately, I think it's very easy to salvage. All I need to do for next time is to make just one teeny tiny alteration to the recipe. Instead of 1 tablespoon of sea salt, I'll simply rely upon the tried and true, "Add sea salt to taste."

It's amazing how a minor adjustment to a recipe can mean the difference between success and failure. I also realize that perhaps I should have garnished the dish. A bowl of yellow and green soup isn't the most appealing from a visual standpoint. A little bit of cilantro as a garnish would have gone a long way to improving the presentation.

The recipe for this gazpacho is inspired by one found in Raw Food Real World by Matthew Kenney and Sarma Melngailis. I've been reading their book because I am intrigued by the notion of preparing food entirely without the aid of an oven nor burners. While the dishes within their cookbook are amazing, I'm not sure this style of food is for me. The sales pitch sprinkled throughout Raw Food is a bit silly at times. The authors stop just short of claiming that a raw food diet makes them superior human beings, whose bodies defy the effects of aging, illness and are infused with the sex drive of porn stars.

Despite these minor critiques, there's something to be said for striving to put only the freshest, most pure food into one's body.

Pineapple-Cucumber Gazpacho

Yield
4-6 servings

Ingredients
1 cup chopped peeled cucumber
4 cups chopped pineapple
1 cup fresh pineapple juice
½ of a small jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced.
1 green onion, white and 1 inch of green, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 handful cilantro leaves, plus a few extra for garnish
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt to taste

Preparation
1. In a blender, add 3 cups each of the cucumber and pineapple, the pineapple juice, jalapeno, green onion, lime juice and salt. Blend until smooth.

2. Add the remaining 1 cup of pineapple and 1 cup cucumber, the handful of cilantro and 1 ½ tablespoons of the oil. Pulse the blender a few times quickly to ensure that the gazpacho remains chunky. Season with sea salt.

Notes
To get enough chopped pineapple and pineapple juice, you will need one large or two medium sized pineapples. Be sure to garnish the dish with some of the left over cilantro. Also, place the gazpacho in the refrigerator to chill prior to service if you have time.