Waiter! My Soup is Cold!

The wealth of knowledge that USU Dietetics students have is amazing. We decided it was time to have their share some of their knowledge with you!  We gave the junior dietetic students  an assignment to write a post for the blog. They had free rein in their topic…but it had to relate to Soup of course! This is a wonderful post written by USU Dietetic student Ashley Berrest with a spin on traditional soup! 

Wishing you could eat hearty, healthy soup in the dead
of summer without overheating? 

Got a craving for creamy, cool ethnic cuisine? 

Never fear, gazpacho is here!

Gazpacho is a traditional Spanish soup originating from southern Spain and Portugal, and get this: it’s served cold. Also known as “the liquid salad” because of its assortment of tomatoes, bell peppers, and cucumber blended with cool water or tomato juice, it is an incredibly healthy and refreshing summer treat for soup lovers everywhere. Plus it is rich in vitamins A, C, and potassium, and it is so simple to make and easy to indulge in! Take a break from the BBQ and grab some tomatoes from the garden because it’s gazpacho time.

Gazpacho

From The Pioneer Woman (http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/gazpacho/)

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 whole red onion, diced

1 whole large cucumber, diced

5 whole roma tomatoes, diced

1 whole zucchini, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

1 dash salt to taste

1 quart tomato juice

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/8 cup red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons white sugar

6 dashes Tabasco

1 dash black pepper to taste

Preparation Instructions

In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the minced garlic with half the red onion, half the cucumber, half the tomato, half the zucchini, half the celery, half the tomato juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, 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 add the rest of the tomato juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, zucchini, and celery. (Reserve the rest of the diced vegetables for garnish.)

Stir mixture together and check seasonings, adding salt if needed. Chill soup for at least a couple of hours; soup needs to be very cold!

Remove the soup from the fridge and stir. Check seasonings one last time. Ladle into a bowl and garnish as desired.

Serve straight from the refrigerator garnished with avocado slices, Parmesan cheese, diced veggies, Greek yogurt, or grilled shrimp. Sit back, relax…and don’t forget the crusty bread for dipping!