Gazpacho with Shrimp

When invited to ante up a pregnancy-friendly dish for this book, Washington, D.C.'s famed chef José Andrés forwarded this recipe, an adaptation of his wife Patricia Fernandez de la Cruz's gazpacho. Loaded with fresh vegetables and topped with shrimp, it's a light yet filling meal. And because it's served chilled, it's also soothing to the overheated mom-to-be.

Serves 4

For the gazpacho

• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
• 1/2 green pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 cup water
• 6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1 to 11/2 slices of bread, torn into small pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the shrimp

• 12 large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• pinch of kosher salt

For the garnish

• 4 (1/2-inch thick) slices of bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
• 1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced
• kosher salt, as needed
• 1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon diced shallot
• 1 tablespoon minced chives, to garnish
• sea salt, to garnish

Place the gazpacho ingredients in a blender and blend until very smooth, adding more water if necessary. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve and chill.

Make the shrimp: Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cut the shrimp lengthwise about halfway down so they open into a Y shape (this allows the shrimp to cook more evenly.) Once the oil is hot, sauté the shrimp for 2 to 3 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Put the bread cubes in a mixing bowl, drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil, and toss to coat evenly. Spread the cubes in a single layer on a baking sheet and bake until golden, turning once or twice with a spatula, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool.

In a mixing bowl, combine the plum tomatoes, cucumber, red and green bell peppers, and shallot and mix well.

To serve, place three sautéed shrimp in the center of four soup bowls. Arrange some of the tomato-cucumber mixture around the edge. Sprinkle with chives and sea salt and top with some croutons. Drizzle with a little extra-virgin olive oil. Pour the chilled gazpacho into a pitcher. Set the bowls in front of your guests and pour some of the gazpacho at the table.

Per serving: 384 Calories, 28.55g Fat, 22.68g Carbs, 9.53g Protein, 5.16g Fiber, 68mg Calcium, 2.32mg Iron, 426mg Sodium, 90μg Folate

The above recipe is taken from Healthy Eating During Pregnancy: 100 Recipes for a Nutritious, Delicious Nine Months by Erika Lenkert with Brooke Alpert. Click here for more.