How to Make Farmer's Market Gazpacho

Gazpacho with its heart healthy fresh vegetables and its zesty flavor is a farmers market favorite. High in fiber, vitamins and minerals this homemade cold Spanish soup is a quick and easy way to get your five to seven vegetables in for the day.
The abundance of tomatoes which are high in cancer-fighting lycopene form the base for this vegetarian nutritious cold summer soup. Vary the vegetables by what's in season at your local market. Experiment with other peppers to make this gazpacho recipe your own.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• 1 clove garlic—chopped
• 1/2 small white onion-chopped
• 1/2 small red onion—chopped
• 1 fresh jalapeno-chopped (optional)
• 1/2 red pepper —deseeded and chopped
• 1/2 green pepper —deseeded and chopped
• 2 roasted chile peppers-chopped
• 1 cup peeled, deseeded and chopped cucumber
• 1 cup chopped, roma tomatoes
• 4-6 cups tomato juice
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1-2 teaspoons Tabasco or favorite hot sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1. Clean and prep all of the fresh vegetables; set aside a small portion of cucumber, tomato and peppers for garnish.

2. Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until smooth. Chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve.

3. Gazpacho tastes best when prepared one day before serving. Set out additional bowls of chopped veggies to garnish the cold soup. Gazpacho can thicken as it sits, you can add more tomato juice to thin it out.

Tips & Warnings

• Garnish the bowls of gazpacho with thinly sliced avocado, croutons, hard cooked eggs and additional finely diced vegetables.
• Add a lot of flavor by drizzling each portion of gazpacho with olive oil before serving.
• Serve with crusty bread, tortilla chips, or cheese quesadillas for a complete meal.
• Chipotle peppers which are ripened and smoked jalapeno's add a nice smoky flavor to gazpacho.
• Chopped fresh cilantro is a flavorful garnish.
• Adjust the heat of gazpacho by using less or more jalapeno pepper seeds.
• Wear gloves to cut up jalapeno peppers.

Resources

• Perfect Hardboiled Eggs

[FrazzledNanny]

on 2/17/2009 I've never tried gazpacho before. Thanks for the recipe. 5*