Produce, produce, everywhere

It’s getting to that point of the summer when I actually have more produce than I can handle around my kitchen…between bringing home a load from the market weekly and visiting my mom’s garden on Tuesday, I have a glut of cherry tomatoes, beets, corn, peaches, and peppers.  One of the best problems to have, right?  Since this month’s RecipeRedux theme is “back to the table,” I decided to put out a bunch of yummy dishes and have an al fresco smorgasboard for a friend visiting from out of town.  Summer dinners are much more casual, but convening around food at the end of the day is an important family ritual to keep up, even if you don’t need to use silverware for all the food!

A word about gazpacho

Gazpacho should be easy.  After all, it’s basically a vegetable smoothie that you eat with a spoon.  Some recipes call for blanching and deseeding of tomatoes, peeling cucumbers, and chilling overnight but that all seems overly complicated to me.  Yes, my soup will have more texture than a restaurant version, but that means more fiber and other nutrients.  This article reviews the “5 mistakes of gazpacho” – and I’m making that one on purpose!  My friend said it was the best gazpacho she’d ever had, and that she loved the texture, so it goes to show that a few extra peels never hurt 🙂

Chunky market veggie gazpacho

Ingredients

• 3-4 medium [fresh, local] tomatoes (or about 3 cups of cherry tomatoes)
• 2 small bell peppers (yellow, orange, or red work best)
• 1 small onion
• 1 clove garlic (this may be the only thing you want to roast – left raw, it gives the soup a spicy edge!)
• 1 small English cucumber
• 3 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 Tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
• 1 Tablespoon red wine vinegar
• toppings: fresh basil, corn, croutons, parmesan cheese…try what you like!

Directions

Put all ingredients in a blender and pulse into chunks; puree to desired thickness.  Optional: add breadcrumbs for a thicker texture.