Fresh Gazpacho with Spicy Olive Oil and Red Wine Vinegar

Our good friend Carolyn brought over fresh tomatoes from Grandpa Humphrey’s garden today and we immediately thought of gazpacho. Gazpacho is a tomato-based soup originating from the southern Spanish region made with raw vegetables and usually served cold. It can’t get any easier than “throw everything in the blender and give it a whirl!” In fact, we found this recipe in our Vitamix recipe book but any blender will do. Add chopped bits of tomato and cucumber to the finished product for a chunkier soup. The Chipotle Olive OIl adds just the right amount of kick but if you want more heat, you can always substitute our Baklouti Olive Oil! The Spicy Calabrian Pesto Olive Oil also adds complementary flavors of pesto along with a spicy kick from the pepper!

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cups canned, bottled or fresh tomato juice
• 2 tablespoons Olive This! Organic Red Wine Vinegar, or Olive This! Sherry Vinegar
• 2 tablespoons Olive This! Chipotle Olive Oil, or Baklouti Olive Oil or Spicy Calabrian Pesto Olive Oil
• 1 very large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes (about ¾ pounds) plus extra for the bowls if you want chunky soup.
• 1 cucumber (about ½ pound) plus extra for the bowls if you want chunky soup
• ½ small onion, coarsely chopped
• ½ sweet green bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

Since everything goes in the blender, you don’t need to chop the vegetables finely or evenly. Cut the cucumber, tomatoes, onions and bell pepper into large pieces. The small chunks of tomato and cucumber added at the end will come later.

Place the tomato juice, cucumber, tomatoes, bell pepper, onions, infused olive oil and red wine vinegar into the blender. Start on a very slow speed until the chunks are blended. Speed up and puree to your desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste.

For a chunky gazpacho, dice some extra tomatoes and cucumbers (about 2-3 tablespoons per serving).

When serving, place about 2-3 tablespoons each of tomatoes and cucumbers into each bowl. Pour the finished gazpacho over the chopped vegetables.

Season with black pepper. If desired, drizzle with extra olive oil for more heat and or a splash of red wine vinegar to brighten the flavor. Enjoy!

MAKES ABOUT 2½ CUPS

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