Zesty Gazpacho
My first time making gazpacho - and my first time eating it, too!
Same as usual; I'll transcribe first and enter my peanut gallery comments and alterations below.
Zesty Gazpacho
Ingrediants1 small red onion
1 small green bell pepper
1 cucumber
2 stalks celery
3 large tomatoes
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 (6-ounce) cans vegetable juice cocktail
3 (6-ounce) cans tomato juice
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
seasoned croutons (optional)
sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
True to form, I am incapable of following a recipe exactly, same as I am incapable of following a crochet pattern exactly. I can't help but fiddle. And so, my recipe came out thusly:
Ingrediants2 small yellow onions
1 medium green bell pepper
1 large cucumber (peeled and seeded)
3 stalks of celery
3 medium tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic
roughly 1 inch of ginger, thinly sliced and julienned
4 (6-ounce) cans of tomato juice
4 (6-ounce) cans of vegetable juice cocktail
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
a buncha salt and a buncha pepper
Instructions
This was really quite good, but my major complaint was that it was just too... bland. Perhaps that's the point, but I like some flavor in my food. If I want bland, I'll eat it when I'm sick and can't handle anything else. The 'zesty' part of the recipe title just isn't true (to me), though I do consent to the wisdom of chilling before serving, to allow the flavors to blend. Perhaps it would be better to serve the night after making, or make in the morning and serve at night.
I believe in the future I will add more garlic (everything tastes better with garlic!), blend rougly half the ingrediants (not puree, but something less chunky and more soupy), and perhaps replace the vegetable cocktail with the hot and spicy vegetable cocktail. I added about a teaspoon (I think - I just sort of squirted it in) of Sriracha to the bowl I took to work today, and woo! It was like salsa soup (only better). I think a little less heat would be better. The hot and spicy cocktail should do it.
Now I want another bowl. >.>
Same as usual; I'll transcribe first and enter my peanut gallery comments and alterations below.
Zesty Gazpacho
Ingrediants1 small red onion
1 small green bell pepper
1 cucumber
2 stalks celery
3 large tomatoes
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 (6-ounce) cans vegetable juice cocktail
3 (6-ounce) cans tomato juice
2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
seasoned croutons (optional)
sliced green onions (optional)
Instructions
- Chop the red onion, bell pepper, unpeeled cucumber, celery, and tomatoes. Combine vegetables in a large bowl, tossing gently to mix.
- Stir garlic into bowl. Add tomato juice, vegetable juice cocktail and vinegar; mix well.
- Add olive oil, salt and pepper to bowl; stir. Chill, covered, until serving time.
- Ladle soup into bowls. Garnish with croutons and green onions. Serve immediately.
True to form, I am incapable of following a recipe exactly, same as I am incapable of following a crochet pattern exactly. I can't help but fiddle. And so, my recipe came out thusly:
Ingrediants2 small yellow onions
1 medium green bell pepper
1 large cucumber (peeled and seeded)
3 stalks of celery
3 medium tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
1 heaping teaspoon of minced garlic
roughly 1 inch of ginger, thinly sliced and julienned
4 (6-ounce) cans of tomato juice
4 (6-ounce) cans of vegetable juice cocktail
2 teaspoons red-wine vinegar
2 teaspoons olive oil
a buncha salt and a buncha pepper
Instructions
- Roughly dice all vegetables, but a little smaller than one would normally 'dice,' in order to ensure that you can get more than one veggie per spoonful. Toss inna big pot with the garlic and the ginger.
- Add 3 cans of tomato juice and 3 cans of vegetable juice. Stir around, decide that this is just too damn chunky, and add 1 more can of juice each.
- Taste, add a buncha salt and pepper, stir, taste again, repeat if necessary.
- Be too impatient to wait for this whole 'chill' thing, and serve straight up with Pillsbury flakey biscuits. Mmm. Flakey biscuits.
This was really quite good, but my major complaint was that it was just too... bland. Perhaps that's the point, but I like some flavor in my food. If I want bland, I'll eat it when I'm sick and can't handle anything else. The 'zesty' part of the recipe title just isn't true (to me), though I do consent to the wisdom of chilling before serving, to allow the flavors to blend. Perhaps it would be better to serve the night after making, or make in the morning and serve at night.
I believe in the future I will add more garlic (everything tastes better with garlic!), blend rougly half the ingrediants (not puree, but something less chunky and more soupy), and perhaps replace the vegetable cocktail with the hot and spicy vegetable cocktail. I added about a teaspoon (I think - I just sort of squirted it in) of Sriracha to the bowl I took to work today, and woo! It was like salsa soup (only better). I think a little less heat would be better. The hot and spicy cocktail should do it.
Now I want another bowl. >.>