Late Season Spicy Gazpacho
For those of you that aren’t quite ready for “fall-themed” foods ( meaning, pumpkin spice on everything LOL ) This is a great way to use up those ripe, late summer tomatoes and make a delicious light lunch. I feel like this gazpacho is best when it has a few hours to sit and “marinate” in the fridge. If you aren’t into spicy foods, you can easily skip the sambal or sriracha that I’m obsessed with. No strict rules here so enjoy!
Late Season Spicy Gazpacho - makes approximately 6 servings
32 oz tomato organic juice
5 large tomatoes - scored, blanched, peeled, and diced
1 large seeded cucumber, diced ( I left the skin on )
1/2 large green bell pepper, diced
3 cloves of garlic minced
1/2 of a large red onion, diced
1/2 cup of Italian basil, chopped
1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped ( cilantro haters can omit )
2 Tbs aged balsamic vinegar
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs sambal or sriracha for heat ( a finely diced jalapeno could work in space of this )
juice of 1/2 of a large lemon
1 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
To Make
*Bring water to a rolling boil in a medium saucepan. Score ( cut an X ) on the bottom of each tomato and place in boiling water for 30 seconds. Quickly drain tomatoes and place in an ice bath until cool. Peel skin off of the blanched tomatoes and finely dice and place in a large bowl
*Finely dice a seeded cucumber, 1/2 of green bell pepper, and 1/2 of red onion and add to the large bowl with the tomatoes. Pour in the tomato juice and add the remaining ingredients. Stir and taste. Adjust spice, salt, and pepper if needed.
***Optional - I like to take an emulsion blender to this recipe at the very end. I just submerge it in the finished soup and pulse it a few times to break down the veggies just a little bit more. This step is completely optional. You can get the same effect by pulsing just half of the finished gazpacho in a medium speed blender and then combining it with the unblended half.
To serve
*ladle gazpacho into a shallow soup bowl. Top with chopped basil and/or chives and drizzle a little olive oil on top. Cubed or sliced avocado is a nice addition as well.