Soup in the Summer

Today for lunch I had a some amazing soup!

I know what you’re thinking…she ate soup in the middle of summer??

Yep, and I loved every bite!

We went to the Waterway Cafe in North Palm Beach, Flordia and they made the yummiest Gazpacho I have ever tasted. It was just perfect! After having this amazing soup I decided to encourage my readers to give this cold soup another try.

My only memory of gazpacho is as a kid in Girl Scouts.  We had to make an international soup for our International Cooking badge and the leaders decided we were going to make Gazpacho. Now that I am older I question why didn’t make an Italian Wedding soup or pasta fagioli?

Anyway, at the time I was totally grossed out at the thought of cold tomato soup. In fact, it sounded like some kind of evil torture trick our leaders had thought up for us.

I could not have been more wrong.

Now I am 39 and can’t get enough. It is truly the essence of everything summer poured into a bowl and topped with a savory cream and crunchy croutons. YUMMO!

Here is the recipe I have used in the past, but recently I changed it up a little and started adding a dollop of savory cream cheese (yum!) and a handful of rosemary croutons on top!

Why not give it a whirl?  I promise you will not be disappointed!

Another great thing about Gazpacho is that it is super easy to make ahead of time when you are having a summer luncheon or dinner. No fuss and totally delicious! 

Soup:
1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes (or whatever is in season)
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 cups low sodium tomato juice (3 cups)
1/4 teaspoon thyme
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
dash of Tabasco (to taste)
4 oz. chive and onion cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup sour cream
Rosemary croutons (see recipe below)

Directions:
Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over blend! Chunks are a good thing in gazpacho!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits the better the taste.

In a small bowl mix together the chive and onion cream cheese with the sour cream. Place a dollop on top of soup and add a handful of croutons to serve.

Rosemary croutons (see recipe below)
2 tsp. olive oil
1 sprig fresh rosemary
8 slices french bread — ½” thick slices (set on counter overnight)
Heat oil and rosemary on high. Add bread and cook until browned, 1 min on each side. Remove to paper towels and sprinkle with salt. Cut into bite-size pieces. Bake at 300 degrees till toasted.