A refreshing and one of my favorites, Gazpacho is also known as "liquid salad" — for obvious reasons. Its origin and roots go back to ancient times in Andalusia Spain; with a version of the recipe believed to be concocted as a re-energizing dish for Roman workers building roads in early 2nd century Spain.
Traditionally, gazpacho recipes include stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, olive oil, and a touch of vinegar. This time of year is perfect to think about taking those fresh garden or from-the-market veggies and make this refreshing cold soup.
My recipe will give your knife skills a work out. Feel free to use a blender. But keep in mind the manual chopping of the vegetables will preserve the flavor. Be aware, using a food processor or blender actually cooks the veggies with the friction, in turn, changing the natural uncooked flavor, which is the true essence of this dish.
There are many versions of gazpacho, but I prefer this one without any meat broth, keeping it true to its veggie roots, and finishing it off with a good balsamic.
Gazpacho
Makes four servings
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1/4 cup onion, chopped very fine
4 cups tomato juice
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup sweet red pepper, chopped very fine
1/4 cup sweet green pepper, chopped very fine
1/4 fresh plum tomatoes, seeded, chopped fine
4 cloves garlic, fine chop
1/4 cup scallion, fine chop
1/2 cup cucumber; peeled and seeded, chopped very fine
1 Tablespoon cilantro
1/4 teaspoon hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon cumin
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
1/2 cup stale bread, toasted and chopped fine
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar
In a large bowl mix all the ingredients and chill for two hours before serving.
