I love gazpacho. But have a hard time finding it in restaurants here. I guess it’s not a local favorite. So, I decided to make my own. Paired with sangria, this is my ultimate summer food.

Gazpacho

15 oz tomato sauce

1 large tomato

2 cloves garlic

Fresh cilantro

1 cucumber

2 carrots

1 jalapeno

1/2 lemon*

1 bell pepper**

You can put this all straight into your blender or put it into a mixing bowl. If you are not using a blender, just chop everything as fine as you can. I have a blender, but it lives its life on the edge, so I never know if it’s going to work or not. Sometimes, I don’t even bother with it. I just chop everything as small as I can and then use a whisk to mix it. Anyway, this time I used the blender. It worked! Yay! Back to the business at hand. Chop the tomato. Grate the garlic (I told you about this here). Chop the cilantro. You can use as much or as little cilantro as you like. I love cilantro, so use lots of it. Don’t like it? Don’t use it. Peel and chop the cucumber. Chop the jalapeno. If you want it hotter, leave the seeds and the pith (the white stuff inside). If you don’t want it too hot remove the seeds and the pith. Peel and dice the carrots. Chop the bell pepper. The juice from the lemon. Put all of this into the recepticle of your choice (bowl or blender). Blend on high until it is as fine as you like. I like to leave it just a little chunky. But the blender does help get everything mixed together well. Taste it. Does it need anything? I don’t add salt. Mostly because I don’t like things salty. But if it needs salt, add it. If you really like salt and garlic, add garlic salt. When it is everything you need it to be, place in the refrigerator overnight. Gazpacho is always better on day 2.

I would like to add that you can replace the cilantro with basil. It creates a whole different flavor, but it’s pretty tasty that way.

*You will use the rest of the lemon later. I promise to provide recipes for it in the next day or two.

**I prefer red or yellow peppers. But green works fine, too.

Yummy Yogurt Dip

1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Fresh cilantro

1 jalapeno

¼ lemon (see told you that would use more of that lemon

About the yogurt. I use full fat. No skim or ½ fat or fat free. The texture of those is usually icky to me. But if you are on a strict diet or prefer the others, that’s cool. There is that cilantro again. Use lots, a little, or none. Whatever floats your boat. Chop the jalapeno. Same deal with the seeds and the pith. I leave it, but I like to live on the edge. Place ingredients in a bowl, squeeze as much of the juice from the lemon as possible in there. You still have some lemon left, so if you need more, go for it. Mix well with a spoon. No need for a blender on this. Place in the refrigerator. You can use within a few hours or overnight. This stuff is good on crackers, pita chips, tortilla chips, and of course, gazpacho.

Gazpacho with Yummy yogurt dip and avocado.

A friend made this without the yogurt dip. He said it was good, but “needs more cucumber.”