Gazpacho and Popcorn Cakes

It’s summer in Korea and tomatoes are everywhere! I love tomatoes but its way too hot to cook with them now so what better way to use them then to make this Spanish favorite, Gazpacho! This cold soup is delicious and hits the spot on a hot day, but I wanted something on the side to make this dish a little more filling. Something a little salty to go with that tomato flavor and something healthy. Then I remembered an episode of Top Chef that made Popcorn Cakes! It’s a perfect match.

First the Gazpacho. This recipe is originally from the Blog Eat, Live, Run but I have tweaked it a little based on the ingredients available to me!
You will need:
1 cucumber, diced
4 large tomatoes, chopped
1 small red/white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh basil (dried basil is fine too)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar (it can go without if you don’t have it)
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 lemon, juiced
pinch of sea salt
pinch of ground black pepper

Mix everything in a bowl. Blend half in a blender and then add the rest to the blended mixture. Season with salt to taste and chill for about three hours before serving. It doesn’t look that pretty but it tastes amazing!

This recipe has been adapted from a Top Chef recipe I saw on Season 1!

POPCORN CAKES:
1/2 cup water
1 large egg (or egg substitute, I used flax)
1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons minced fresh chives (I used white onion)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (I used rye flour)
1 bag salted microwave popcorn, popped, cooled, and roughly broken up with your hands (I used air popped)
Olive oil for cooking

Whisk the water, egg, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Whisk in the chives/onion, then the flour. Stir in the popcorn until just coated with the batter.

In a pan heat olive oil and cover the bottom. Then spoon out the batter in batches and cook about 2-3 min. on each side or until golden brown. Lightly sprinkle with salt and let cool.