Gazpacho (vegan)

Aaaaand we're back.  Sorry about yesterday.  I needed a minute.  Do you need a minute?  

Jay left on Sunday for vacation a work trip, so without him and a wedding (wee!  but argh!) 3.5 weeks away I'm a leeeeetle bit stressed.  

So I took a minute.  To get some stuff done and snuggle with my dogs and visit with the refrigerator man for the third time in a week.  Nice man, crappy fridge-fixer.  

But then, once I had my minute, I made gazpacho.  I had it at a restaurant a few weeks ago and it was REALLY good, and then my grandparents came to visit my sister to help her with some yard work and brought ALL THE VEGETABLES so....gazpacho it was!  It's so good, and I'm eating it for lunch today again.  I wasn't kidding about the vegetables, either.  See those veggies up there?  Not even half of the bounty I'm now struggling to cook through.  COME HOME PLEASE JAY.  

Also, today is one of our first really hot days, which is weird, because it's SOUTH CAROLINA.  It's super duper hot, though, so eating refreshing cold food just seems like the right thing to do, doesn't it?

You need lots of tomatoes, a small cucumber (or ⅓ large English cucumber), small zucchini, red bell pepper, chunk of onion, garlic clove, olive oil, sugar, salt, worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and red wine vinegar. 

And white bread!  This is optional, but one slice of white bread torn into all these veggies adds a nice thickness - you don't know it's there at all, don't worry.  No soggy bread flavor or anything you're thinking. 

First, cut everything into large chunks - just enough so that the blender or food processor (you can use either) have some semblance of what to do with all these veggies. 

Reserve juuuuust a little bit (1 inch or so), of cucumber, pepper, onion, and zucchini.  If you forget try not to freak out, but if you remember chop the pieces finely and set them aside for a garnish. 

Then, make the soup!  I had to make 3 batches because I don't have a blender and I wanted to use lots of veggies.  If you half this recipe or have a large food processor or blender, make it all at once.  Toss the veggies and bread into a food processor, then drizzle in olive oil. 

Pour in the vinegar, worcestershire, and as much hot sauce as you'd like.  I used about a teaspoon for all these veggies - the flavor is nice, but doesn't add a lot of heat.  The bite of the soup should come from the vinegar and raw veggies. 

Then, add some salt and sugar - a little first, and then more later. 

Blend the soup until it's smooth - I like a really fine texture, but if you like more veggie chunks you can process the soup for less time.  I like using all the tomatoes in this - most recipes call for peeling and seeding the tomatoes, then adding canned tomato juice.  That doesn't make sense to me because you throw away juice and then add juice?  Wasteful, kids.  Use the whole tomato and be proud of yourself. 

Also!  This is a great way to use cheap/overripe tomatoes that you mind find at a farmer's market - the squishier the better!  Once the soup is processed, taste it and add more of ANY seasoning you like.  Some people like a bit more sugar in theirs, so sprinkle away and stir everything together (in one big batch) until it tastes right to you.

Here's my bowl of soup after I made three batches of it.  Phew!  Lotsa soup for a girl living on her own. 

Now, you could of course serve this in little bowls and some of the chopped veggies on top. 

BUT WHY NOT SERVE GAZPACHO IN SOMETHING CLEAR like a martini glass?  Cute!

This works especially well in situations where you have a sh*t ton of tomatoes and spaghetti is just kind of ... not ok for 93 degree days with full humidity?  Also.  This takes 5 seconds to make. 

I think this is fun for a party, and I've seen gazpacho shooters too if you're into washing a thousand little glasses after a party. 

I say give 'em a real serving, no?  You want more than 1 ounce of this stuff at a time.

Make gazpacho soon!  It's so perfect for summer, incredibly healthy, and CHEAP since most of these veggies are in season right now.  It can be made ahead and kept for a few days, with no additional time needed before you serve since it's served cold! 

I'm ready for my lunch. 

And for Weekend Potluck.  Is it Friday yet?

Gazpacho

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• Total Time: 20 minutes

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Ingredients

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• 6-7 large tomatoes, or equivalent (I used some large, some medium, some cherry!)
• 1 pickling cucumber, or ⅓ English cucumber
• 1 red bell pepper
• 1 small zucchini
• ½ small onion, or equivalent
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 slice white bread
• ½ cup olive oil
• ¼ cup red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce, your choice
• salt
• ½ teaspoon sugar

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Instructions

1. Cut all veggies into large chunks. Reserve 1 inch or so of zucchini, onion, cucumber, and pepper. Dice finely and set aside.
2. Combine veggies and bread with salt, sugar, vinegar, oil, worcestershire, and hot sauce in a food process or blender, working in batches if you need to. Process until smooth and fully combined. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your preference - the soup should taste of vinegar and salt with just a hint of sugar.
3. Serve chilled topped with the reserved chopped vegetables.

Notes

• This makes a ton of soup, and recipe can be easily halved. Rule of thumb for veggies is ¾ tomatoes, ¼ all other veggies combined. Enjoy!

• Prep Time: 20

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 6