gazpacho

If you’ve never tried gazpacho, I recommend you do. It’s a perfect summertime meal: colorful, healthy, light and full of zesty garden goodness. Also great because there is zero cooking involved. Don’t you just dread turning on an oven in the summer months? Perfect for lunch or dinner, could be fun to take to your next cookout, served in clear plastic cups. We like this recipe at our house, a modification of Barefoot Contessa’s famous recipe. Mr. J prefers his less chunky than the recipe dictates, so after it’s processed to my taste, I remove half and just barely puree the rest for him.

1 English/Hothouse cucumber halved & seeded, not peeled

2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded

4-6 plum/roma tomatoes

1 small shallot, peeled

1 garlic clove, minced

23 ounces (3 cups) best quality tomato juice

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

a few leaves of fresh basil, chopped fine

lime wedges

sliced fresh avocado, optional

Roughly chop the vegetables into in inch pieces. Place separately into a food processor fitted with steel blade attachment and pulse until coarsely chopped but NOT pureed. After each vegetable has been chopped. Place all into a large bowl. Add juice, vinegar, oil, salt, pepper and basil and mix well. Chill before serving. It really does taste better the longer it chills. If you like, serve with sliced avocado and lime wedges.

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Kimberly

...by day, making a home where the buffalo roam. By night, pretty much the same thing, punctuated by the occasional fantasies of sunny beaches, italian movies and sparkling lemonade.