You might have realized by now that I dearly love tomatoes. And soup. So, combining tomatoes AND soup makes me very happy! There are few things as magical as using fresh produce in
summertime dishes, so why not consider using your garden’s (or farmers’ market) ripe bounty to make this simple and refreshing soup? I have sometimes substituted infused vinegar from Lake
George Olive Oil for the white vinegar for a slightly different, decadent twist (hello, amazing balsamic vinegar!) You can also top your soup with sliced hard-boiled eggs, slivers of prosciutto, or (my son’s favorite), bacon crumbles from Oscar’s Smokehouse. Regardless of whether you consume this soup plain or topped with goodies, I hope you will enjoy this version of gazpacho.

Ingredients:

Soup:
o 2 cups of water
o 1 medium onion, finely chopped
o 3 ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
o 1 cucumber, peeled and sliced
o 4 tablespoons white vinegar
o 2 teaspoons salt
o 3 cloves garlic, crushed
o 4 slices of bread, cut into pieces
o 4 tablespoons olive oil

Garnish options:
o 1 cucumber, diced
o 1 green pepper, diced
o 1 medium onion, finely chopped
o 1 tomato, finely chopped
o 1 cup croutons

Directions:

1. Combine the first nine ingredients, cover, and let stand for one hour. Using a blender or food processor, puree, and then refrigerate until ready to serve.
2. Prepare garnish options, and set them aside.
3. Serve chilled soup, and top with garnish options.

Enjoy!

Nutrition Information (calculated for soup only): Serving size: 1/4 recipe | Servings per recipe: 4 | Calories: 111, total fat: 1.8 g, saturated fat: 0.1 g, cholesterol: 0 mg, sodium: 1301 mg, carbohydrates: 21.7 g, fiber: 5.1 g, sugar: 6.5 g, protein: 4.6 g

*Recipe adapted from the Columbia Restaurant

Photo at top: Gazpacho Andaluz. Photo courtesy of MB Mitcham.