Gazpacho – Summer’s Soup

Got veggies – lots and lots of them?

If your garden overfloweth (like ours) here’s a great way to use those home-grown vegetables without turning on the stove or oven. This is a very good thing if you’ve been having the type of HOT summer weather that we’ve been having on the Eastern Shore. This version is courtesy of recipes from two of my favorite cookbooks: The Victory Garden Cookbook and The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking. Tomatoes, peppers, onions, cukes  are the main ingredients.

Gazpacho is a cold tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. The name has become an almost generic term for chilled vegetable soup. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Its usually referred to as a summer soup since that’s when the fresh vegetables it uses are most plentiful and because of the soup’s refreshing qualities.

Gazpacho

There are countless gazpacho recipes in Spain and elsewhere. The most familiar one is a pureed salad of summery vegetables. Classic gazpachos are thickened with bread.

• 4 large ripe tomatoes
• 2 ½ cucumbers
• 1 large green pepper
• 10-12 scallions
• 1-2 cloves garlic
• Salt  & freshly ground pepper
• ¼ C red wine vinegar
• 1/3 C olive oil
• Fresh chopped cilantro or parsley (if available)
• 3 C tomato juice or vegetable juice (V8)
• Worcestershire sauce
• Croutons

1. Peel, seed, coarsely shop the tomatoes in a food processor.
2. Finely chop (but don’t puree) cukes, peppers, and onions in the food processor. Note: You can do each separately and remove to holding bowls.
3. Mash garlic and 1 tsp salt. Stir in vinegar and oil. Combine with chopped vegetables and add tomato juice.
4. Chop cilantro or parsley leaves.
5. Combine veggies and season with a dash of Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper.

Stir well and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Serve in chilled bowls with a side of crusty bread and a glass of wine.

 Tasty Additions

• Add ½ - 1 C soft fresh breadcrumbs with vinegar and oil.
• Mash in fresh herbs, such as basil with the garlic.
• Serve soup with chopped vegetable garnishes such as finely chopped cucumbers, peppers, scallions or celery.