Keyword: Bell Red Peppers, cilantro, cold soup, cucumbers, garlic, gluten free, lemon, onion, soup, tomato juice, worcestershire sauce
Servings: 8cups
Author: GFchow @ gfchow.com
Equipment
food processer
Ingredients
2-3cucumbersmedium-sized, peeled
1small sweet, white onionor 1/2 a large onion
1orange or yellow pepperdiced (green peppers can also be used)
146 oz. bottle tomato juiceSacramento is the brand I prefer
1/2lemonsqueezed
1teaspoongarlicfinely minced
2teaspoonsWorcestershire sauce
2teaspoonskosher salt
1/4cupcilantrochopped (optional)
hot sauce (couple of dashes)optional
Instructions
Peel cucumbers, cut off the ends and cut in half vertically. (Read NOTE below about cucumbers.) Scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Cut cucumbers into even, large size pieces and transfer to a food processor (or dice by hand). Pulse approximately 15x until you get the desired sized pieces. Use a spatula to transfer cucumbers to a large bowl. No need to clean the food processor yet.
Cut onion into large, even pieces and transfer to the food processor and pulse to desired consistency. Using a spatula, transfer onions to the large bowl with the cucumbers.
Peppers need to be diced by hand. (Peppers turn to mush if put in the food processor.) Once diced, transfer peppers to the same bowl with the cucumbers and onions. Fresh or stewed tomatoes can also be chopped and added to the soup if desired.
Add tomato juice to the bowl and mix.
Then add lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, kosher salt, chopped cilantro and a couple of dashes of hot sauce (optional). Mix all ingredients together with a large spoon. Taste the soup and adjust seasoning as necessary.
Let chill for at least one hour and up to 24 hours before serving.
Serve in a cup, mug or bowl and garnish with additional cilantro if desired.
Notes
Use this recipe as a guide. You can modify, add or delete ingredients and/or seasonings to your personal preferences. For example, I didn’t add tomatoes but you can. I love cilantro and think the herb gives the soup a wonderful flavor but if you’re a cilantro-phob, don’t add it, etc.Corn, carrots, chilled shrimp or crab would all be delicious additions to the soup.If using home-grown cucumbers, be sure to taste a sliver from each end of the cuc before proceeding to make sure neither end is bitter which can sometimes happen with home-grown cucumbers. If one end is bitter, don’t use the cucumber in the soup. Use it for a salad and only use the sweet, non-bitter portion.I like my Gazpacho to be crunchy and for all of the vegetables to be approximately the same size but if you like a smoother consistency, feel free to do a finer dice or put in a blender.It is best to make this soup one day ahead to let the flavors meld and to properly chill. Be sure to taste the soup before serving because seasonings may need to be adjusted again. A drizzle of olive oil or dollop of sour cream, yogurt or creme fraiche can be added before serving, if desired.