Gazpacho

Tim and I rarely agree on soups.

I tend to go for creamy soups, he loves tomato based, meat filled, pasta stuffed, mostly Italian influenced soups.

I will try a variety of cold soups: pea, corn, asparagus, etc.; he wants a soup that would burn the roof off of your mouth, and in general, views cold soups as something to be avoided at all costs.

Spices are another point on which we cannot agree. He would add Sriracha to his pancake batter if he could; I consider pepper to be a solid form of lava.

Then, there is the matter of vegetables. There is almost no vegetable I don’t like. Tim’s no fly list currently includes: zucchini, all mushroom varieties except button, all peas, eggplant, 99% of all squash, asparagus, kale,  and whatever he thinks looks iffy on any given day. Sigh.

So in this marriage of opposites, I am always thrilled to find some common soup ground. And this gazpacho is it. Loaded with (Tim approved) veggies, as spicy as you care to make it, hearty, tomato based, and just plain yummy.

Remember, that when you make it, you can vary how hearty it is by pulsing the vitamix (or blender) as much or as little as you like.  There is no wrong answer here  unless you add one of the veggies  Tim hates.  Then it s wrong  so very, very wrong.

• 5-6 Roma tomatoes
• 1 green pepper
• 1 English cucumber, or 1-2 medium regular cucumbers
• 1/2 medium onion
• 1 lime
• 2 cups vegetable juice
• 1/2 – 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste
• 6 large leaves of basil
• 1 1/2 teaspoon olive oil
• 3 Tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 clove garlic

Directions:

1. Peel the cucumber(s), cut in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds with a teaspoon.  Roughly chop the cucumber.
2. Slice off the core end of the tomatoes, and cut them into quarters. 
3. Core the pepper and remove the seeds. Roughly chop the pepper.
4. Add all ingredients to the vitamix or blender and pulse to desired texture. 
5. Refrigerate till ready to serve (I like to make this a few hours ahead and get it nice and cold)

Enjoy!