Gazpacho

 

With all the summer vegetables so alive this season you can't help but want to eat them as close to fresh as possible. Gazpacho is an easy, refreshing way to do just that.

 
 

 

 With the bag of tomatoes cousin Yianni gave us I knew I had to do something more than just salad. All the ingredients for a tasty gazpacho were right there in my kitchen, including the basil which every self respecting Greek has to have a plant on their balcony.

 

I diced one medium onion, peeled lots of garlic, diced a cucumber and a pepper. I then peeled a mountain of tomatoes and diced them as well. I reserved some for garnish and pureed the rest in batches in my blender.

I boiled some zucchini with the blossom still on

 

Gazpacho
1 onion diced
4 gloves of garlic peeled
1 cucumber peeled
1 pepper red or green
5-6 large ripe tomatoes
2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar
1/2 cup of olive oil
1 heaping teaspoon sea salt
dash of pepper
red pepper flakes

Puree everything in batches. To this wonderful mixture I added two tablespoons of wine vinegar, a quarter cup extra virgin Greek olive oil, Kytherian sea salt and pepper and I added some red pepper flakes for a little heat.

Mix well with a large spoon, cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

Serve with crusty bread(I toasted mine topped with graviera cheese), garnished with the reserved diced veggies, chopped basil and a drizzle of olive oil.

Heaven!

Enjoy,

Maria