White Cauliflower Gazpacho

Aaaand action! After a well deserved summer break, I’m finally back for more delicious recipes. Prepare yourself for many new culinary experiments over the coming year. Starting today actually, with this new twist on an old classic.

My love for gazpacho started back when I used to spend my summers in Spain. Growing up, we would go down to my grandparents’ beachhouse with all of my cousins. Those were the best days, when we would lounge by the pool or the sea, and play all kinds of games together. I remember long meals where the eight of us would sit around the kids table, and have conversations that were (obviously) much more interesting than our parents’. Our staple meals always included my grandmother’s homemade gazpacho, which was a true house favorite. She’d start preparing it bright and early, giving the soup just enough time to chill in the fridge before lunch. I would watch and try to help her with an “essential” step or two, like soaking the bread in ice cold water.

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My Gazpacho

In case you didn’t know: I love soup! I can literally eat it every single day without getting tired of it. There are just so many things you can do with soup. Hot or cold, vegetarian or not, with or without noodles, creamy or chunky, broth or no broth, and so on… It’s amazing how versatile it is. Now, one of my favorite types of soup is called gazpacho. For those of you who have never tried it before, it’s a cold vegetable soup from Spain, usually with a tomato base (but not always). Though it’s mostly popular in the summer, I like it all year long because it’s tasty, fresh, and it requires a minimal amount of work! Don’t fear the “long” list of ingredients as they’re all really common vegetables. Bon appétit!

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Prep time: 30 minutes

Ingredients: This recipe serves 5

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 whole cucumber
• 1/2 red bell pepper
• 1/2 green bell pepper
• 1/2 onion
• 1/2 lemon (juice)
• 1/2 garlic clove
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 oz. country bread
• 1 tbs sherry vinegar
• 4 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1/2-1 tsp Sriracha
• 1/2 tsp cumin and paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F, and roast the bell peppers for 20 minutes, or until their skin is blistered.
2. Meanwhile, soak the bread in the water.
3. Peal and dice the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, garlic, and roasted peppers (under cold water if too hot).
4. Put all these vegetables, and the soaked bread and water in a blender. Add the oil, vinegar, Sriracha, spices and lemon juice and blend until smooth. That’s it!

TIP: you can top each bowl with olive oil, roasted pine nuts, fresh basil, goat cheese, croutons, fresh diced cucumbers or anything else!