Swedish Girl's Gazpacho

When describing Gazpacho to someone who has never tried it, the sound of "cold, pureed vegetable soup" does not sound appetizing, I'll admit!  However, if you're a vegetable lover, especially when tomatoes, cukes & peppers are at their peak, you are going to LOVE gazpacho.  What I love is: a) you can mess around with what veggies you add and b) a one cup serving is 49 calories.  Therefore, you're not going to get fat eating gazpacho, people!  I have estimated the quantities in this recipe.  Feel free to omit the zucchini and add more pepper or more cukes or tomatoes.  It's a healthy, refreshing, tasty meal for the end of summer.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 4 tomatoes, chopped (can be a variety - Roma, beefsteak, plum, cherry... whatever you have on hand.  It should be equivalent to about 2 beefsteak tomatoes... more or less!)
• 1 cucumber, quartered
• 1 yellow pepper, seeds removed and quartered
• 1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and quartered
• 1 small zucchini, cut into chunks
• 1 - 2 jalepeño or red chili peppers, seeds removed (optional)
• 1 small red onion, chopped OR 3 – 4 green onions
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 1/2 - 2 cups tomato juice (or V8).  If you want the gazpacho to be on the chunky side, wait to add this until the end to get the consistency you want.
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano (or 1 T. fresh)
• 1 teaspoon dried basil (1 T. fresh)
• Handful fresh cilantro
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (or more to taste)
• 3 teaspoons red wine vinegar

Directions

1.    Puree tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, zucchini, onion, jalepeño and garlic in a blender or food processor, about 30 seconds, or to desired consistency. Add tomato juice, olive oil, cilantro, oregano, basil, celery salt, salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and red wine vinegar. Pulse a few times to mix. Pour into a bowl and chill at least 1 hour.

2.  Before serving, adjust the seasonings by adding more salt, seasoned salt, pepper (or Tabasco if you like it hot!).

3.    Serve with chopped avocado and a dollop of sour cream.

NOTE:  I've made gazpacho before by adding a slice or two of bread before running it through the food processor.  It thickens it up a bit and makes it more filling.  The best thing about Gazpacho is you can really play around with the ingredients to make it your own.