Tuck Takes Off

Colorful, delicious gazpacho! My favorite.

It is summer which means GAZPACHO Time. I made a huge batch on Sunday and have been happily partaking since then – one of the great things about gazpacho is it gets better and better as the flavors settle and mingle.

I played with my recipe, mixing elements of the classic Moosewood Cookbook gazpacho formula I grew up on (thanks, Mama Jo) and some suggestions from  Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa. Came out great.

I used a food processor and that made preparation VERY EASY but I am also a chopper (see Stephanie Salad) and I like a bit of crunch in my gazpacho (satisfying!) so to get the texture I like, I sparingly use the PULSE feature on my Cuisinart, and dice veggies but leave a few bits here and there more chunky,  instead of setting the blades free to do their thing. If you process your veggies to death, your  gazpacho will turn out like V8 juice.

Ingredients:

• 32 oz chilled low sodium V-8 or tomato juice
• 1 red pepper, seeds removed and diced
• 1 green pepper, seeds removed and diced
• 5 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1 unpeeled cucumber with seeds scooped out, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 scallions, diced
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup italian parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• juice of 1  1/2 lemons, or mix of lemons and limes
• 1 TB honey
• 1 dash tabasco
• 1 dash cumin
• sea salt and pepper to taste
• fresh chives (cut with scissors and put on top of each bowlful  to serve – adds a great fresh kick)

Prepare all of the vegetables and mix in a big bowl. Add everything else (tomato juice, spices, lemon juice, parsley, etc.) and chill for at least 2 hours before serving (makes a difference.)  To serve, top with chives.  This low-cal recipe makes 8 servings, and is packed with Vitamins A and C so eat all you want.

Some folks like a dollop of sour cream, corn bread croutons or slices of avocado on top, but I guess I’m a purist – I like my gazpacho straight up.  You may be love those additions, though, so experiment! I’d serve this with a warmed up baguette and maybe some cheese and viola, insanely tasty/healthy summer meal. For those of you who like the Stephanie Salad,  give this a shot. I think you will loooove it. As always, if you have a favorite healthy recipe, let me know and I’ll spread the good word.  xxoo Steph