Gazpacho

Summer in New York City is a love hate relationship for many.  People flock outside to enjoy late evening dining but during the daylight hours (and often well into the evening) there is no respite for the intolerable heat.  This truly is a concrete jungle.  I returned home after a weekend in the shaded Philly suburbs to find the summer in full swing.  NYC was sweltering.  I started thinking of ice cream and smoothies almost immediately.  Since I couldn't justify ice cream for dinner I decided on gazpacho.
I've thought about making gazpacho for a while now.  It is straight forward and requires little work minus the initial chopping.  I made enough to last me all week.  I would say this though - you do not want to eat too much gazpacho in one sitting.  I tried pouring a normal size bowl and was a bit overwhelmed.  I think I prefer it as a starter, a very refreshing and light starter.  I followed a recipe from Ida Garten on the Food Network but made a few changes because I wanted my soup to be a little chunkier.

Ingredients:

4 tomatoes, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 sweet onion, chopped
1 english cucumber, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups low sodium tomato juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper

Method:

I chopped all my veggies into large chunks and placed each individually into a food processor.  You don't want them to be over processed so make sure they still have some texture.  Combine the veggies into a large bowl after they have been in through the food processor - the garlic can just be chopped by hand.  Add olive oil, vinegar, salt and pepper.  Stir and put in refrigerator to cool.   The longer it sits the more flavor it will have, give it at least an hour before you serve.  I served with cantaloupe wrapped in proscuitto for a delicious and cool dinner.