Gazpacho

Summertime means fresh tomatoes from the garden and wonders of what on earth to do with them all. It also means eating foods that are room temperature or even chilled, so to me that is gazpacho!

David came to me the other day and said “where’s your gazpacho recipe? I want to make some and nothing on the Internet looks very interesting.”

I am an organized person, except my recipes, I have bits of papers and copies in many boxes in three different rooms. This was a great opportunity to find it, type it, and save a soft copy. I have been doing that lately, and it makes it oh so much easier to find them later!

Gazpacho is like spaghetti sauce, everyone makes it different. In Spain, I recall every restaurant serves this as part of the “menu del dia” and theirs is a blended gazpacho, almost like tomato soup. While I enjoyed it, mine is the exact opposite; it is a clear broth (as opposed to tomato juice), and the vegetables are all chopped by hand and crunchy, you see the different vegetables and taste each one separately.

David made this, and as usual comes to me and has me taste it. “What’s missing?” he asks, he can tell but doesn’t know. I tell him to add a bit more pepper, some salt and did he put in the Tabasco? “Ah, Tabasco! I forgot.”

This was wonderful, we had it prior to our main dish, but it would be a great meal in itself if you grilled or broiled some shrimp and added them at the last minute.

The recipe is as follows or you can click here for a word document.

Happy, healthy summer eating!

Clear Gazpacho

4 cups chicken broth, chilled (homemade if possible)

4 medium tomatoes, chopped (retain juices with tomatoes)

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 teaspoons lime juice

1 small red onion, finely chopped

2 bell peppers (red or a mix), finely chopped

2 stalks celery, finely chopped

1 large English cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

½ teaspoon fresh oregano

2 cloves garlic, minced

Several dashes Tabasco or cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon pepper

Salt to taste

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; do not use a blender or food processor. Chill well.

Can be served alone or with cooked shrimp added just before serving. Serves 4 as a main dish, 6 to 8 as an appetizer.