Chilled Soup Trilogy Part 3 – Restaurant-Style Gazpacho

It’s the final installment in our Little Kitchen, Big Flavors chilled soup trilogy, and personally I believe we’ve saved the best for last. This restaurant-style gazpacho, just like the other two chilled soups featured last week, prides itself on fresh vegetables grown in the summer sun. In fact, every single vegetable being used today came right out of our CSA box and into this dish.

I’ve lovingly dubbed this soup as “restaurant-style” because it brings me back to the days when Mr. Big Flavors and I worked a brief stint together in the restaurant biz. His gazpacho (this recipe) would frequently appear on the summer specials menu, and it never lasted long. Within hours, this soup was gone. Devoured by fellow Buffalonians looking to get their fill of freshness. And, I don’t blame them. I mean, really, how can you pass up a big bowl of summer?

I can’t think of one good reason that you shouldn’t make this dish! Let’s see…

If you’re looking for a light, healthy, low-calorie lunch, this is it. It travels well, and you won’t even have to stalk the office microwave waiting for your turn.

If you’re looking for a quick way to get dinner on the table, this is the perfect soup. Just chop, puree, and chill. Super easy and no stove required!

If you’re trying to get your daily dose of vegetables, look no further. Four vegetables, all bursting with antioxidants. Who needs V8 when you have gazpacho? And, if you’re like me, the hunt is always on for new ways to use up a ton of veggies at once.

If you’re trying to impress your friends at the end of summer bash – bring this appetizer along! With all of this tomato flavor, this soup tastes like you picked it right off the vine. And, it looks so elegant. Your friends will think that you went the extra mile to make something you know they’d enjoy. But, shhh.. you’re the only that has to know that this soup took a whole 20 minutes. And, don’t forget to bring along some vodka and hot sauce for gazpacho shooters… you know…if it’s that kind of party…

I’ve already mentioned the ripe tomato flavor accented by green pepper, cucumber, and just a hint of onion. But, the secret to this gazpacho is the texture. See, you aren’t going to puree everything into a chunky blob of broth and call it a day. Instead, this recipe reserves half of the cucumber, tomato, and pepper to be diced up finely and added at the end. This way, you have a lovely, smooth, bright broth with cucumber and pepper crunch in every bite. Balancing the texture almost always means success.

Restaurant-Style Gazpacho

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Serves	8
Prep time	20 minutes
Meal type	Appetizer, Lunch, Main Dish, Side Dish, Soup

Ingredients

• 2 large cucumbers (peeled and seeds removed)
• 1 large green bell pepper
• 1 tablespoon sweet onion (make sure it's sweet! Finely diced)
• 4 large tomatoes
• 46oz tomato juice
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• juice from 1/2 lime
• 1 tablespoon fresh parsley (finely chopped)

Directions

1.	Cut tomatoes into quarters and use a spoon to remove seeds. Place tomatoes in a colander, and run under cold water, to ensure all seeds are removed.
2.	Chop one cucumber, half of the tomato, and half of the green pepper into large pieces. Place in a blender. Add almost all of the tomato juice. Turn on and puree until smooth.
3.	Dice the remaining cucumber, tomato, and green pepper, into small, uniform pieces. Make sure the size of the dice is consistent. Place these vegetables along with the diced onion into a large bowl.
4.	Add the tomato puree to the bowl. Whisk in honey, apple cider vinegar, olive oil, fresh lime juice, parsley and remaining tomato juice. Season to taste with a touch of salt and plenty of freshly-cracked black pepper.
5.	Cover bowl with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator to chill for at least one hour (overnight is best).

Need more of summer in a bowl? I don’t blame you!

Cucumber Melon Soup with Cucumber-Rose Relish

Sweet Corn Soup with Roasted Corn Salsa

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Shared with: Totally Tasty Tuesdays, Talent Show Tuesday, Trick or Treat Tuesdays, Full Plate Thursday, Fit & Fabulous Fridays, Simple Living

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