By Susan Benton, 30aEats, Gulf Coast Restaurants
Note: This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled as needed. Serves 8.
Ingredients:
1 quart low salt, no MSG tomato juice
5 whole Roma tomatoes, stemmed and seeded, diced
2 large celery stalks, finely diced
1 hothouse cucumber, seeds removed, finely diced
1 whole zucchini diced
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1 red bell pepper, stemmed and seeded, finely diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded, minced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Juice of 1 lime
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, or to taste
2 teaspoons kosher salt
6 dashes of Tabasco sauce, to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped, held out for serving
Optional garnishes:
Favorite Vodka
Fresh lime
2 ripe Avocado peeled, pitted and cubed
Preparation:
In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic and jalepeno with half the red onion, half the bell pepper, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, white wine vinegar, Tabasco, and a dash of salt.
Pulse until all ingredients are blended well; mixture will have a nice speckled, colorful texture.
Pour into a large bowl and combine all of the other ingredients except the optional garnishes. Stir together, adding salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, as it needs to be served cold.
Remove soup from fridge, and stir in cilantro. Check seasonings to taste one last time. If serving as a soup, ladle into bowls and drizzle with a little olive oil, garnishing with avocado.
To serve with vodka, mix 1 cup gazpacho with 1 ounce of vodka. Pour into a glass or plastic cup and serve cold with fresh lime wedges and cucumber slices as a garnish.
If someone tailgating nearby is having a shrimp boil, hand them a Bloody Mary and ask for shrimp in return! Place one shrimp on the side of the cup, and it will add to the wonderful flavors of this meal to-go.
Plastic spoons are optional.
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