Italian-Inspired Gazpacho

Last week, my daughter and I welcomed a house full of the sweetest girls to spend the day with us.  We took them out on a photo adventure/nature hike.  We played board games.  We talked about sweet life lessons… and we ATE.  The girls have been serving at a beautiful camp all summer, and their one request was “home cooked, healthy food.”  We tried our best to spoil them!!  One of the main dishes we served was this bright, summery, Italian-inspired Gazpacho.

I love gazpacho. It’s bright and fresh and full of bursts of flavor. It also happens to be a nutritional powerhouse. That’s yet another reason it makes it onto our menu!  My usual gazpacho recipe is a round-up of every veggie that looks bright and fresh, and I like to load it with garlic and jalapenos to make it extra spicy.  This Italian-inspired version has a bit less heat, so we thought it might be a great crowd-pleaser.

Soup is one of my favorite dishes to serve to a crowd; it’s a whole meal in a dish. It’s usually fairly simple to prepare in advance. You can make sides if you like (we will share the ones we made in a later post), but you don’t have to.  Most soup recipes “keep” well when they’re served in large quantities. In summer, a cold soup is awesome, because it’s super low-maintenance, as well. Adding a variety of toppings makes it seem even more special, and allows guests to customize their meal as they like.

Maybe it sounds silly, but for being such an earthy dish, whenever it’s served at our house, people call it fancy, which I think makes them feel a bit spoiled.  Yay!

I hope you enjoy this Italian-inspired gazpacho recipe!

Italian Inspired Gazpacho

2016-07-15 11:56:16

Serves 6

A summery no-cook soup made of a garden's worth of crisp vegetables. Basil and red wine vinegar give it an Italian feel.

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Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

15 min

Prep Time

15 min

Total Time

15 min

Ingredients

1. 2 cups bottled tomato juice
2. 4 tomatoes (quarter two, cut two into bite-sized cubes)
3. 1 red or yellow bell pepper, seeded and quartered
4. 2 cucumbers, quarter one and cut the second into bite-sized cubes
5. 1/2 sweet onion, cut into smaller chunks
6. 2 teaspoons minced garlic
7. 1 teaspoon salt
8. 1/2 teaspoon pepper
9. 3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
10. juice of 1/2 lemon
11. 1/4 cup basil
12. dash Worcestershire sauce

Toppings

1. Reserved cucumber, cubed
2. 1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese or grated parmesan
3. 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar, reduced by half
4. thinly sliced green onion

Instructions

1. Pour juice into blender.
2. Add two quartered tomatoes, pepper, 1 quartered cucumber, and sweet onion.
3. Process for 10 seconds.
4. Add remaining ingredients to blender in order listed; process 10-15 seconds.
5. Remove from blender and stir in remaining cucumber and tomatoes.

Notes

1. For smaller blenders, divide into two batches.
2. Toppings are optional; feel free to get creative!

By Angela Sackett | Sal et Lux

Sal et Lux https://saletlux.com/

If you make it, let us know how you like this twist on gazpacho.  Do you have a favorite soup recipe that gets devoured to your family and friends?