Better Is Better: Gazpacho - A Healthy Summer Meal

Gazpacho is a raw vegetable "soup" that's great for hot summer days. It originates in the hot climes of Spain and Portugal. Generally, the star ingredient is tomatoes. And traditional recipes also included stale bread, but we'll skip that for our purposes. You can put all kinds of fresh veggies in a gazpacho. The sky is the limit really.

The one I threw together tonight was a concoction of what we had in the fridge and what was available in the garden. My daughter and I went out with a bowl and pair of scissors and just started smelling and tasting different herbs to figure out what we wanted in our soup.

Here's a list of what we came up with.

From the garden:

Basil
Lemon thyme
Parsley

From the fridge:

3 large tomatoes
1 red pepper
1/2 small red onion
1/4 English cucumber
wedge of lemon

From the cupboard:

1/2 clove garlic
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
Celtic sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
a touch of stevia

Once you decide what you want in your gazpacho, the rest is pretty easy. Roughly chop your veggies and herbs (except the cukes - put them aside). Then throw them all in the food processor with a couple good glugs of olive oil, a few splashes of balsamic vinegar, a pinch or two of sea salt, a few turns from the pepper grinder, the juice from your lemon wedge and your touch of stevia. Keep a few sprigs of parsley aside for garnish.

Let the processor go until the gazpacho takes on a smooth soupy consistency. Then you can give it a taste and season to your liking with sea salt and pepper. Once you get it how you want it, take it off the food processor base, cover it, and put it in the fridge for anywhere from a half hour to a couple hours.

When you are about ready to serve, finely dice your cucumber. Take your gazpacho out of the fridge and give it a quick whiz. Pour it into bowls and garnish with a sprig of parsley and a handful of your finely diced cucumber.

Enjoy!

If you've experimented with your own gazpacho recipes, I'd love to hear what you've come up with. I've heard avocado is also a great addition. Let me know in the comments.