Jo’s Gazpacho (serves 4)
When it is good it is very good and when it’s bad it’s horrible. Have had both types of gazpacho and some of the bad ones were made by me! One of the best came in a soup carton from a Spanish supermarket and the smoothest were in France. After trial and error I have come up with an easy, tasty gazpacho. No green peppers in mine as I don’t like the taste of them and every time I come across a recipe calling for a green pepper, I substitute a red or yellow pepper or leave it out altogether. If you follow a Mediterranean style of healthy eating this is about a Mediterranean as it gets and I added a finishing touch of sautéed zucchini/courgettes.
1/2 an English cucumber – diced
1 large clove of garlic – finely chopped
1/4 of a red onion – chopped
1/2 a large red pepper – diced
1 x 14.5oz can of diced tomatoes
1 cup tomato juice (I used dei fratelli brand which comes in a carton)
1/2 cup veg. broth/stock
1 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil seasoned with salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup zucchini/courgettes – finely diced (will shrink a bit on cooking but aim to have 1 tbsp.
Place cucumber, garlic, red onion, red pepper and canned tomatoes in food processor and puree at the same time as adding the tomato juice and veg. broth.
Heat olive oil in skillet/frying pan and saute the zucchini/courgettes until nicely browned. Scatter in middle of bowl of soup.
