This Roasted Tomato Gazpacho Recipe is heart healthy and counts as part of your Go Red for American Heart Month efforts.
Description
Grill the vegetables outside or on a stovetop griddle for this refreshing soup earlier in the day or even the night before. We sometimes serve the gazpacho in clear Spanish wine tumblers to show off the rich color. Gazpacho is typically served cool but you can serve it warm to meet your preference in the winter.
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
- 1 small red bell pepper
- 1 English cucumber, peeled and
- seeded, divided
- ½ cup torn fresh or day-old country
- bread (crusts removed)
- 1 small clove garlic
- 2-3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ¼ teaspoon pimento d’Espelette (see Cooking Tip) or hot Spanish paprika or pinch of cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Cooking Instructions
- Preheat grill or stovetop griddle to medium-high.
- Grill tomatoes and bell pepper, turning a few times, until they soften and the skins are blistered and charred in spots, about 8 minutes.
- Transfer the pepper to a plastic bag and let it steam until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skin; cut the pepper in half and discard the stem and seeds. Place one half in a blender.
- When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, core and roughly chop. Add the tomatoes, skins and all, to the blender. Add half the cucumber to the blender along with bread, garlic, vinegar to taste, parsley, piment d’Espelette (or paprika or cayenne), salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
- Add oil and blend until well combined.
- Refrigerate until room temperature or chilled, at least 1 hour.
- Before serving, finely dice the remaining cucumber and bell pepper; stir half of each into the gazpacho and garnish with the remaining cucumber and bell pepper.
Cook’s Tip
Piment d’Espelette is a sweet, mildly spicy pepper, from the French side of the Basque region, ground into powder. To Make Ahead: Cover and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Stir to recombine and garnish just before serving.
Nutritional Information per serving
Calories…84
Total Fat…5g
Saturated Fat…1g
Monounsaturated Fat…4g
Sodium…219mg
Carbohydrates…9g
Fiber…2g
Protein…2g
Potassium…405mg
1/2 vegetable carbohydrate serving + 1 fat serving