4 cloves Garlic, Minced
3/4 whole Red Onion,Diced
1 1/2 whole Large Cucumber, Diced
10-12 whole Roma Tomatoes, Diced (or other firm tomato)
1/2 Bell Pepper, Diced
3 stalks Celery, Diced
2 dashs Salt To Taste
1 46 oz bottle Spicy V-8 Juice
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
Juice of 1 whole lime (or more)
2 Tablespoons White Sugar (I used two small packets of Splenda)
10-15 dashes Tabasco (I used Chipotle Tabasco)
2 dashs Black Pepper to taste
1 bunch of Cilantro (chopped)
(optional garnishes: 1 Avocado diced and sprinkled with lime juice, 1 whole lime cut in wedges, Sour Cream, croutons, or grilled bread)
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 bell pepper, half the celery, half the V-8 juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, sugar (or Splenda), Tabasco, hand full of Cilantro, pepper and a dash or 2 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 V-8 juice, and half of the remaining onion, cucumber, tomato, pepper, and celery. Add all the diced tomatoes that are left. (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 with remaining diced vegetables, a sliver of fresh avocado, sour cream, sqeeze of lime, croutons and cilantro.
This recipe was adapted from one I saw on The Pioneer Woman’s site http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2009/06/gazpacho/
TJ Talks 