It's July and that means it's time to take advantage of the tons of fresh vegetables available right now. There's not a recipe out there that does that as well as gazpacho, in my opinion. It's somewhere between sipping summer and drinking salsa!
Save the "from scratch" stuff for the weekend when you can enjoy chopping everything that comes out of your garden or from the farmers' market. But when the mood strikes you in the middle of the week, turn to some great grocery store finds to make this summer soup in minutes. Start with good old V8 and instead of chopping lots of vegetables, add a container of fresh deli salsa. It's brimming with tomatoes, onions, peppers and lots of fresh herbs that will make this soup sing! Also, if you have a salad bar at your grocery store, you might opt to pick and choose your ingredients from there. Since most of the time that goes into gazpacho is in chopping veggies, simply find creative ways to avoid that task and you will have it done in no time!
As always, I encourage you to share your recipe ideas and comments. You can always post comments in the discussion board using the forms provided in the articles or email me directly at .
Speedy Gazpacho
- 1 can V8 or other vegetable juice
- 4 oz. fat free chicken broth
- 1 T. lemon juice
- 1 T. balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 tsp. hot sauce
- 1 lb. deli fresh salsa
- 1/2 cucumber, chopped
- 2 T. extra virgin olive oil
Combine all of the ingredients except the olive oil in a large bowl. Stir to combine and chill for at least 30 minutes. Just prior to serving, drizzle with the olive oil.
- Yields: 3-4 servings
- Preparation Time: 15 minutes, plus chilling time