Gazpacho

This is my second attempt at making gazpacho in as many weeks. The first one had potential, but the recipe called for the tomato mixture to be pureed, then strained. After straining the soup, it was so thin it resembled a juice more than a soup. Without the vegetable puree to add texture, the flavor seemed lacking as well. I was disappointed to say the least, but when I had a friend over for dinner this past weekend, I decided to try my hand at this chilled soup one more time, to accompany a side of Asparagus and Red Corn Salad.

Gazpacho round 1: It looked cool (I even found a green amorphous blob of seeds in the center of a red tomato to use as garnish) but it tasted too weird to endorse.

The recipe itself is simple and requires no cooking. If you have a food processor, the whole ordeal could be over in just a couple of minutes. I don't, so I chopped all of the veggies up manually, then pureed about 2/3 of the ingredients at the end.

Gazpacho

I started by chopping up four heirloom tomatoes.

I added to the tomatoes 2 chopped Persian cucumbers, 1/2 chopped red onion, 3 cloves minced garlic, 1 chopped and seeded jalapeno pepper, and 1 chopped red bell pepper

To the chopped veggies, I added 3 cups tomato juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup white wine vinegar, 1.5 tsp Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper. I pureed about 2/3 of the mixture in the blender, then added it back to the bowl. It needs to be refrigerated for at least 4 hours, so the flavors can meld.

The chilled tomato-y soup is refreshing, tangy, and full of bold summer vegetable flavors. I made a huge vat of it, but after the dinner party and breakfast on Sunday(!), the gazpacho was gone. 

R.I.P....in my belly.