It’s HOT.  Very hot.  Certainly too hot to cook (I’m pretty lazy for someone who likes being active). I’m not made of money ya know, so I had to make something that wouldn’t cause me to stand by a hot stove too often.  I’m just making cold dishes til this heat wave breaks.

Gazpacho is a cold soup originally from Spain.  It is tomato–based, and uses fresh summer veggies and can be topped with fun add–ons that make the soup more of a meal.  The soup is refreshing, crisp, and light.  I usually dip my bread into it to add some starch to my meal, but the sky is the limit here. I like to think of the soup as a jumping off point, adding meats and breads to make it feel more homey.

Talking about this makes me miss Spain. Did you know they sell gazpacho in supermarkets there in milk cartons? It’s very engrained to the culture.

Ingredients:

4 Beefsteak tomatoes [$5]

1 cucumber [$1]

1 red onion [$1.50]

1 bell pepper, color unimportant [$1]

garlic [I had this, but its about 50 cents]

olive oil

red wine vinegar

1 can tomato sauce [$1]

1 avocado [$1.50]

white shrimp [about $7/lb]

 

Directions:

Peel and chop cucumber, and chop the tomatoes, about 1/4 to 1/3 of the red onion, 4 garlic cloves, and about 1/2 the bell pepper.  Combine in a blender or food processor and process on high.  Add olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to taste.  Add about 1/4 cup of the tomato sauce and process to add color and extra tomato flavor. Put in fridge to cool while you prepare shrimp.

Tip: leave your tomatoes out on the counter, not in the fridge.  They lose flavor.

add olive oil to a pan a cook shrimp on medium high heat for about 2 minutes per side.  Slice avocado. Pour soup into bowls and top with avocado and shrimp. Serve with bread.

Enjoy this til the heat wave breaks!

-L

Photo of Gazpacho via: Breakfast in Paris