Summertime is in full bloom and I thought I would share one of my favorite recipes that is both healthy and extremely easy to prepare.
Gazpacho a la Kathy
This is a combination of several gazpacho recipes that I have tried over the years and I love to have it on hand on hot, summer evenings. It’s cool, refreshing and full of summer vegetables. I would imagine it’s low in calories and pretty good for you, too.
INGREDIENTS
- Extra Virgin (no simple virgins here) Olive Oil
- Garlic Croutons
- 1 Cucumber
- 1 Green Pepper
- 2-4 Cloves of Garlic (Depending on how garlicky you like your food).
- 1 lime
- 3-4 Ripe Tomatoes
- 1 Onion
- Cilantro
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Vegetable Juice
- 1 semi-ripe Avocado
In a food processor, add about 1 to 1 1/2 cups of your croutons.
Slowly drizzle in your olive oil till it makes the croutons a pasty consistency. I didn’t specify exact measurements because the amount of olive oil added depends on the amount of croutons, but here’s a picture to give you an idea of what it should look like…
Your next step is to enlist the help of little hands to shred the cucumber like this…
Chop up your green pepper into leetle pieces…
…and throw the crouton paste, shredded cucumber and green pepper in a big bowl.
Next, cut your onion and tomatoes into quarters and place them into the bowl of your food processor along with the amount of garlic you want and pulse a few times until they are chopped up real nice.
At this point, add the juice of one lime, 3-4 tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce, a handful of the cilantro and pulse until it looks like this…
Place that mixture in the bowl with the croutons, green pepper and cucumbers and mix it up real good.
The consistency at this point reminds me too much of salsa, so add the vegetable juice until it resembles a nice, chunky soup.
Add salt and pepper to taste.
Cut up the avocado and add to the soup.
Refrigerate for a couple hours or overnight to let the flavors mix. I usually end up adding more vegetable juice after a couple hours because it tends to thicken up again.
Serve instead of a salad, and crunchy French bread on the side goes well.
Let me know if your tried it and what you think!
Enjoy!
Peace,
K
