Sunday, July 13, 2014

Gazpacho

I love gazpacho in the summer, when the tomatoes are big and red. I went back to Ed Lester Farms yet again. I brought back huge, beautiful, red, ripe tomatoes. It is so amazing to cut into a tomato and not see white in the center. These tomatoes are as red inside as out. I also found the cucumber, red onion and bell pepper I needed to make this gazpacho. This is a recipe from the WW Recipe Review board. I have made it many, many times. It is really delicious. Over the years I have decided I like a blend of herbs in this recipe. Equal parts parsley and cilantro is perfect. I have used both V8 and tomato juice before. I still can't decide which I like better? As I type this I am thinking this batch of gazpacho was the best yet. But I have to admit I have thought that before. I think it really comes down to the fresh tomatoes and cucumber. This is such a delicious soup! It is almost like salsa in a bowl. It makes a great starter, snack or light lunch. I need to make this recipe a few more times before the summer tomatoes are gone.



Gazpacho 
Makes 1 gallon; 16 one cup servings 

Ingredients

6 ripe tomatoes, diced 
1 purple onion, diced 
1 English cucumber, seeded and diced 
1 green bell pepper, diced 
2 stalks celery, diced 
1 handful each Parsley and Cilantro, roughly chopped 
1 bunch of green onions, sliced 
1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups low sodium V8 vegetable juice (or tomato juice) 
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1 or 2 dashes of hot sauce, or to taste 
2 teaspoons of sugar 
Kosher salt, black pepper and red pepper flakes, to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar 
1/4 cup olive oil 

Directions

Combine first 8 ingredients in a blender or food processor, pulse until the desire consistency. It will have to be done in batches. Combine all ingredients in a large plastic bowl (I use a 1 gallon pitcher), refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight to blend.








Want More Gazpacho Ideas?
Try These Other Great Recipes.

This is a wonderful smooth, very creamy gazpacho from Kelsey Nixion of the Cooking Channel. This one you can sip from a glass. I have made it a few times and really enjoyed it.



This is actually one of my recipes that I entered in a recipe contest. It won a prize and was published in Country Woman Magazine. It is an adaptation of the recipe I am sharing with you in this post. I just added lots more spice, flavor and seafood. It tastes like a cross between a bloody Mary and cocktail sauce. Delicious! Don't be intimidated by the long list of ingredients.



This gazpacho is surprisingly sweet and creamy. You would think the green tomatoes would be tart, but they are not. The best way to describe this one is it is sweet and crisp. It also has a great texture, sort of crunchy like pickle relish. It would be a beautiful starter for summer meal.


Linking to:
Ms. enPlace: See Ya in the Gumbo
The Chicken Chick: Clever Chicks Blog Hop
The Tumbleweed Contessa: What'd You Do This Weekend?
Stone Cottage Adventures: Tuesdays with a Twist
Creative K Kids: Tasty Tuesdays
Buns In My Oven: What's Cookin' Wednesday

2 comments:

  1. I once made the mistake of making gazpacho with canned tomatoes. Yuck. Never again! I agree...has to be done when tomatoes are perfectly ripe. Looks so good and fresh, Denise. Thank you for sharing.

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  2. Beautifully done! Pinning this to the Creative K Kids Tasty Tuesday board. Thanks for linking up!

    ReplyDelete

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