The term “liquid salad” sounds pretty gross, but I guess it’s quite accurate when you think about it…

I recently made gazpacho to bring to a friend’s cookout.  This was the first time I ever made it and I was pretty impressed with the results.  In case you don’t know what gazpacho is, it is a Spanish soup that is served cold.  There are many variations, some of which include bread and ice cubes (sounds strange to me, but what do I know?).  This recipe is very simple and healthy, and all the ingredients can be found at your local grocery store.

I based my recipe on the one from this site and altered it slightly.

Tools you will need: 

A blender (or food processor), cutting board, sharp knife, measuring cup, and perhaps a juicer for the citrus. 

Ingredients: 

3 cups tomato juice, 1 green bell pepper, 1 red bell pepper, 1/2 small purple onion, 1 small cucumber, 1 yellow tomato, 1 lemon or lime, 1 large clove garlic, 1 tsp. vinegar, 1 tbsp. olive oil, freshly ground black pepper and sea salt (to taste).  *Optional: 1 jalapeno (including seeds) if you want your soup to be spicy!

Suggestion:  I recommend purchasing low-sodium tomato juice, as the regular kind generally contains a very high amount of salt.  This could overpower the flavor of the fresh vegetables.  Also, if you are unable to find a yellow tomato it’s not a big deal.  A red one will be fine.  It is a good idea to prepare the soup the day before you would like to serve it, so it can chill in the refrigerator overnight.

Directions: 

Cut the bell peppers in half and remove the stems, ribs, and seeds.  Chop into approx. 1″ pieces.  Peel the cucumber and cut it in half lengthwise, then remove all the seeds.  Chop it up just as you did with the peppers.  Cut the tomato in half and remove seeds, then cut it into chunks as well.  Remove the skin from the onion and garlic, chop these too.  Place all chopped vegetables into the blender.

Add the tomato juice, salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon or lime.  Blend all ingredients until they are nicely pureed.

Optional garnishes:  cilantro, croutons, sour cream, thinly sliced avocado, hot sauce