SIXTEEN : GREEN GAZPACHO

PLENTY

SEPTEMBER 18 2012

SIXTEEN : GREEN GAZPACHO

It's that time of year again when the tomatoes are popping and evenings are still warm enough to make a me crave a cool and refreshing dinner. Perfect time for gazpacho! But wait, this green gazpacho doesn't even have tomatoes in it. Is it still gazpacho? I guess so since Wikipedia tells me there are "many modern variations of gazpacho, often in different colors and omitting the tomatoes and bread in favor of... cucumbers, parsley... and other ingredients." Well, at least this will give me the chance to use up some of those cucs taking over the crisper drawer.


While this soup omits tomatoes, it still incorporates plenty of summery freshness with the cucumbers plus bell peppers (from the garden!), celery, lots of basil (again, from the garden!), spinach, parsley and a fresh hot chile (again, again, from the garden!). So even though my counter remains covered in tomatoes begging to be eaten, I still feel like I'm taking advantage of my garden's bounty before the rain starts and the only thing my garden produces is mud.

 

chopping celery and peeled cucs

Only one problem, there is absolutely zero chance this vegetable volume will all fit at once into my blender. Completely impossible, in fact. Which means I'm stuck blending in batches, juggling between a bowl, a pitcher and the blender trying to get everything pureed and combined into one consistent batch. This is ridiculous!

this is only half of the ingredients!

so much gazpacho!

in goes the olive oil

Okay, veggies finally pulverised, now in goes lots of olive oil, nice sherry vinegar, a dollop of Greek yogurt and water to smooth it all out. Lookin' good!

Meanwhile, I toast the sourdough cubes (in a saute pan instead of the oven since it's still out of commission) for the garnish. Crispy bread squares... yum!

Tastes good now but we love gazpacho to be achingly cold so the finished soup heads to the fridge for a little chill-down time. And finally, before serving, I blitz a blender-full with some ice cubes to freeze it down even more (great suggestion, Mr. O!).

And it's fabulous! Rich and smooth with a refreshing vegetableness that cools while sneaking in a punch of green, healthy vitamins. With a drizzle of velvety olive oil and the sour crunch of the croutons, we devour in silence with happy grins on our faces. Delish!