Lisa’s Gazpacho v2

My friend Barbara Mendez sends out weekly Motivational Mondays and is always making great suggestions for ways to improve our health whether it is a new recipe or tips for healthy skin and hair. This week it was a recipe for Refreshing Summer Gazpacho.

I have been thinking about it all week and decided to revisit my original recipe and see if I would do things differently now. I decided to take some inspiration from Barbara – the jalapeño and orange pepper – and adjust my recipe too by taking out the oil and using fresh garlic. It is crazy good, like summer in a bowl. Make it ASAP!

I used my Vitamix and it took less than a minute for the whole thing to come together. You can use a blender or food processor too but you might have to do it in batches.

6 tomatoes (perfectly ripe and juicy)
1 red onion
1 jalapeño pepper
3 to 4 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1 orange pepper
2 Kirby cucumbers
Pinch of sea salt
Avocado, for garnish

Prep your mise en place.

If you like it extra spicy, keep the seeds and ribs of the jalapeño pepper. If not, discard them.

Add the tomatoes, onion, jalapeño pepper, garlic and vinegar into the Vitamix. Let it rip for about 30 seconds or so to get everything pureed. Then add the pepper and cucumber and salt and process again. If you like it chunky, let it go for a few seconds or longer for a smoother gazpacho.

Serve garnished with diced avocado. Enjoy!