A Refreshing Summer Lunch

I had a plea from Stacey last night for a Gazpacho recipe, something quick, easy and refreshing to make during this sweltering heat that would be perfect for lunchtime eating.

I remembered making a good Gazpacho soup for my book ‘No Need To Cook Book’ many years ago so hunted it out. And here it is, a recipe for a classic Spanish cold soup that is perfect served with croutons (if you can tolerate them), small bowls of chopped olives, cucumber, hard-boiled egg etc. The choice is yours, but the latter will boost the protein content.

The soup can be served pureed or chunky…the pic above shows it pureed and the one below chunky (rather like a gazpacho shot!). If you want to serve chunky then simply do not puree the vegetables in the recipe below.

GAZPACHO

Ingredients

Metric/US

2 slices brown bread, cut into smallish cubes

600 ml/21/2 cups tomato juice

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 cucumber, peeled and finely chopped

1 green pepper/capsicum, cored, seeded and finely chopped

1 red pepper/capsicum, cored, seeded and finely chopped

1 large Spanish onion, finely chopped

675g/11/2 lb tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped

1-2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or to taste)

2 tbsp olive oil (optional)

2 tbsp chopped fresh mixed herbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

croutons, chopped olives, chopped hard-boiled egg and chopped cucumber to garnish

Method

1.  Place the bread cubes in a bowl and pour over the tomato juice. Leave to soak for 5 minutes then squeeze them to extract the juice. For the smooth soup version, place the bread cubes in a blender and reserve the juice. For the chunky version place the cubes and tomato juice in a large bowl.

2.  Add the garlic, cucumber, peppers/capsicums, onion and tomatoes to the blender (for the smooth pureed version of the soup) and puree until smooth. Add the reserved tomato juice, vinegar to taste, oil if used, herbs and salt and pepper to taste, mixing well. Alternatively, for the chunky version, add the vegetables and seasonings to the bread and tomato juice and mix well.

3.  Chill either the smooth or chunky version of the soup for at least 1 hour before serving. Serve garnished or accompanied with any of the suggestions above.

SERVES 4

WLS PORTION: 1/2-3/4

V  suitable for Vegetarians

 

Calories per portion(without oil and accompaniments): 148

Protein:  6.2g

Carbohydrate:  29.4g

Fat:  1.5g

Images courtesy of Waitrose