Gazpacho Soup

With the heat flying off the charts in Toronto this past week, it's easy to neglect any type of cooking altogether and rely solely on restaurants, takeout, fast food, and even excessive snacking for your meals. Before you decide to break your summer diet and budget (let's face it, with the AC jacked up to make your home livable, your budget is likely already broken) consider the many delicious cook-free meal options that you can quickly and easily make in the comfort of your own air conditioned home.

Last week when it was just too excruciatingly hot to have a heavy meal and heat up the kitchen, my mom and I decided to collaborate on a gazpacho soup recipe. Jam packed with fresh and vibrant vegetables and bright and flavourful fresh herbs right from our garden, our gazpacho soup was the most perfect option for a scorching summer day. I've always been one to turn my nose up at the raw food movement, but with a no-cook soup as delicious as this, perhaps I've become a new convert!

Tip: Have any other veggies on hand that you'd like to use up? Toss those babies in as well!

Tip: This soup would be perfect for your next party when served in glass shooters for your guests to walk around and sip on.

Ingredients:

1 green pepper, cubed

1 yellow pepper, cubed

1 large cucumber, peeled and cubed

1 small onion

1 (28 oz.) can diced tomatoes

juice of 1/2 lemon

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar (or to taste)

about 2 tbsp fresh parsley

about 1 tbsp fresh dill

about 1/2 tbsp fresh chives

19 ounces tomato juice

1/2 tsp chili powder

salt and pepper to season

Directions:

1. In the bowl of a food processor or a blender, process the peppers until finely chopped (I like to leave the peppers a slightly chunkier than the other veggies to add a bit of texture), transfer to a large bowl. Repeat with the cucumber, onion, and canned diced tomatoes, adding each in turn to the large mixing bowl.

2. Add the lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, parsley, dill, and chives to the bowl of the food processor and pulse until smooth (you may add some tomato juice if the blade is unable to catch the ingredients in the bowl). Add to the large mixing bowl.

3. Add the tomato juice and chili powder to the large mixing bowl and stir. Taste and season with salt and pepper and, if needed, any additional red wine vinegar. Chill for several hours. Serve with fresh chopped dill as a garnish.

Listening To: Wash - Bon Iver

Looking for more no-cook recipes? Come on down to Lomography this Thursday July 28th from 3-5 for a live summer entertaining cooking demo analogue style from yours truly! Click here for more details!