I am such a liar, my yoga pants are on fire. (Not really. That’s a lie.) I tell whoppers every time I visit the farmers market, where I enthusiastically over-purchase fresh, colorful produce with the promise that I will clean, peel and prepare every single item. Then the veggies, and my intentions, wither and die in my kitchen.
The truth is, some days are so overwhelming that the hardest steps in a recipe are the 3 feet from my refrigerator to my workspace. When the enthusiasm I mentally cooked up at the market has been replaced by fatigue and the desire to order pizza, I call on gazpacho to save the day. And my integrity.
We usually think of gazpacho as a chilled tomato-based dish. But gazpacho is as accommodating as it is refreshing, in that you can add and subtract ingredients according to what you have on hand. And since what I currently have are too many cucumbers, I’d like to introduce you to my new favorite summer soup, tomatoless green gazpacho.
While any cucumber variety works as the heart of green gazpacho, I recommend seedless cucumbers for their favorable flesh-to-seed ratio. Yes, if cucumbers wore pants, they, too, would be on fire, because seedless cukes are full of the slippery suckers. Fortunately, you can quickly strip the seeds by scraping them away with a teaspoon. Then toss the cucumbers into the jar of a blender. A roughly chopped green bell pepper (also without those pesky seeds) follows. I also throw in a little red onion, because I appreciate its mild, sweet flavor. But you can just as easily add a bulb of green onion if you want to keep with the color theme. I love grassy-tasting cilantro; if you don’t, substitute fresh mint or fresh basil for bright tang.
When you’ve packed the blender with as many veggies as you can, press the lid down and give it a whirl. Here’s where the real magic of gazpacho happens. Just like that, you’ve made a meal. No cooking over a hot stove. No pots and pans to scrub. Not even any vegetable broth — cucumbers are roughly 95 percent water, which is more than enough liquid to make your gazpacho soup-textured. If it all seems too good to be true, and you suspect I’m lying about how easy this is, I will ‘fess up that the flavors blend more thoroughly if you refrigerate the soup overnight. But if time is the one ingredient you don’t have right now, serve your soup immediately and without a second thought.
Traditionally, a slice of crustless white bread is pureed with the veggies to give the soup a little extra body. And if you are Team Carbohydrate, go ahead and do so. I’m always looking for opportunities to sneak a little extra protein into my meals, so I thickened my soup with a dollop of fat-free plain Greek yogurt instead. It added a touch of tartness, 5 grams of protein and scant calories. If you’re not down with dairy, half an avocado will also make the gazpacho thicker and silky smooth.
Serve your green gazpacho on its own as a light lunch on a hot day. Add a side of grilled shrimp if you’re feeling fancy, or a grilled cheese sandwich if you’re not. Just don’t fib and say that it’s anything other than the easiest, yummiest, vegetable-est summer dish you’ve ever made.
CHILLED GREEN GAZPACHO
This recipe can easily be doubled or tripled. Simply puree the ingredients in batches and then combine in a large bowl.
2 large cucumbers, preferably English
(seedless)cucumbers 1 green bell pepper, seeds
and stem removed
1/4cup diced red onion 6 sprigs fresh cilantro
1 small clove garlic
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1/2teaspoon salt 1/8-1/4teaspoon red
pepper flakes 1/4cup nonfat plain Greek
yogurt
Peel the cucumbers and slice them in half, lengthwise.Use a teaspoon to scrape and discard any seeds from the cucumber. Cut the cucumbers into 3-inch pieces and place them in the jar of a blender. Roughly chop the bell pepper.Add to the blender the bell pepper, red onion, cilantro, garlic, lime juice, salt and red pepper flakes. Puree 1 minute, stopping halfway through to scrape down the sides.Add the Greek yogurt and blend 15 seconds.Refrigerate at least one hour, or overnight. Stir before serving. Garnish with chopped cucumber and/or a dollop of Greek yogurt.Makes approximately 3 cups soup (2 servings).
Per serving: 100 calories (percent of calories from fat, 9),5 grams protein, 20 grams carbohydrates, 3 grams fiber, 1 gram fat (trace saturated fat),1 milligram cholesterol, 845 milligrams sodium.
