Gazpacho

I hope everyone had a great 4th of July! We spent the earlier part of the long weekend with friends at a lake house, then ended the holiday with a beach day in Newport, R.I. It was a glorious few days, and it was nice to get away before "wedding crunch time" really kicks in (it's 4.5 weeks away!).

Another thing we did this weekend is make gazpacho. I've always been a gazpacho fan, but never attempted to make my own until this summer. And now, I feel like I'm making a new batch every week. I tried this recipe a few weeks ago when I was testing recipes for a catering client, and it was delicious. The only thing I'd change: use less V8 or tomato juice. Like, at least one cup less (the original recipe called for 4 cups). The gazpacho tasted fine the next day, but I like my gazpacho to taste fresh and full of vegetables...not full of tomato juice. 

Gazpacho

Yields: 8 servings

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman

-2 cloves garlic, minced
-1/2 red onion, diced
-1 large cucumber, diced
-5 Roma tomatoes, diced
-1 zucchini, diced
-2 stalks celery, diced

-1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and diced
-Salt and black pepper, to taste
-3-4 cups low sodium V8 juice (or tomato juice; number of cups depends on how you like your gazpacho)
-1/4 cup olive oil
-1/8 cup red wine vinegar
-2 tablespoons granulated sugar
-6 dashes Tabasco or hot sauce
-Palmful of fresh cilantro, plus extra for garnish

Directions:

1.) In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the jalapeno, salt, black pepper, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and Tabasco. Pulse until all ingredients are blended well.
2.) Pour into a large bowl and add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, celery, and jalapeno. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish).
3.) Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding more salt or pepper if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours, although overnight is best.
4.) Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado (optional, although highly recommended), and cilantro. 

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What could be better than cold, nutritious soup on a humid summer day? Not much, my friends. Not much.

Are you a fan of gazpacho?

Side note: For the Boston peeps, I am partnering up with the Boston Wine School for a fun vegetarian tasting event next Thursday, July 18th! The event will feature six wines that pair with seven meatless courses - all cooked by me. For more information, check out the event page here.

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