Gazpacho with Grilled Shrimp

Late summer means the garden is in full force. While I love walking outside and grabbing something fresh to eat, I always seem to have more produce than I know what to do with. The abundance means I’m constantly searching for a variety of ways to eat tomatoes, peppers, green beans, cabbage, carrots, and more. One of my favorite go to recipes for all those tomatoes is gazpacho. A delicious chilled vegetable soup that uses the abundance of multiple vegetables -- tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cucumbers.

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​Simple equipment: a knife and blender or food processor make quick work of this refreshing soup.
 
Pick 4-6 medium size tomatoes (or a bunch of small ones if you have them). Peel and dice.

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​Grab a cucumber from the vine and dice half, save the rest for snacking or go ahead and eat it while you are prepping the veggies. Cut one green pepper in half. Dice one half of the pepper and save the other half for blending later.

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​Cut an onion in half. Dice one-quarter of the onion and cut the other quarter into chunks. (I only use half a medium sized onion, you can use the entire onion if you like.) Place the diced veggies, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and peppers in a bowl. 

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Take the remaining chunks of veggies, along with a little water, a cup of canned tomatoes, and some chicken bouillon (you can leave this out for a vegetarian dish) in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Is you want fewer dishes to wash, use a hand blender.​

Pour the smooth mixture over the diced veggies add a tablespoon or so of torn basil and mix. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Fell free to add minced garlic to your blended mixture for extra flavor. Serve with croutons, diced avocado, and fresh basil.

Sometimes I turn gazpacho into a meal by adding marinated grilled shrimp. I use a simple marinade of olive oil, red wine vinegar, ketchup (yes, ketchup -- it adds a sweet and tangy flavor), garlic powder, salt, pepper, cayenne, and some basil. Pop the shrimp in the marinate and put in the fridge while you make the gazpacho. Heat up a grill pan or use your outdoor grill if you don’t want to heat up the kitchen.

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Delicious!

Gazpacho (4-6 servings)
4 cups diced, peeled tomatoes
½ medium cucumber, diced
1 medium green pepper (cut one half into chunks, dice the other half)
½ medium onion (cut one half into chunks, dice the other half)
1 cup canned tomatoes (I use canned tomatoes from previous summers)
½ cup water
1 tsp chicken bouillon (can omit if vegetarian vegan is desired)
2 sprigs basil (about 1 Tbs basil torn)
Salt and Pepper to taste
 
For serving
Croutons
Diced Avocado
Grilled shrimp (optional)
 

1. In bowl mix diced tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, and onion.
2. Place green pepper chunks, onion chunks, canned tomatoes, water, and bouillon in blender (or food processor). Blend until smooth.
3. Pour blended mixture over diced vegetables in bowl and mix to combine.
4. Strip basil leaves from sprigs, tear into pieces, and add to mixture. Add salt and pepper to taste.

 
To serve top with diced avocado and croutons. Warning – the croutons get soggy very quickly so place on top just before eating.
 
If you really want to guild the lily, top the gazpacho with grilled shrimp. The shrimp makes the soup more substantial so it can for served as a meal and it is super tasty.
 
Grilled Marinated Shrimp
2 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs red wine vinegar
1-1/2 Tbs ketchup
¼ tsp garlic powder
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
Dash cayenne pepper (more if you like it spicy)
8 oz of shrimp (about 12 medium)
 

1. Mix oil, vinegar, ketchup, garlic, salt, pepper, and cayenne together in s plastic zip top bag.
2. Add shrimp to marinade, seal bag and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.
3. Remove shrimp from marinade. Grill shrimp 2-3 minutes turning once. Discard any leftover marinade.