Gazpacho
Ingredients:
2-3 heirloom tomatoes, seeded
1 cucumber, seeded and partially peeled or “striped”
1 fennel bulb
1 red bell pepper, seeded
1 medium red onion
1 large or 2 small garlic cloves
1 bunch cilantro or parsley (about 1 cup chopped)
½ cup olive oil
½ cup hemp hearts
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
1 lemon juiced
Organic tomato or vegetable juice
½ tsp Cayenne pepper
1 Tbsp Cumin
Salt & Black pepper to taste
Preparation:
Seed the tomatoes and roughly chop. Partially peel or “stripe” the cucumber, cut in half and using a spoon, scrape the seeds out and roughly chop. Remove and discard the fronds from the fennel and roughly chop the bulb (I always save fennel fronds for juicing)! Seed the bell pepper and roughly chop along with the onion and the garlic. Rinse and chop the herbs. Place all prepped veggies in a large blender or Vitamix and cover with tomato juice, about 3 cups. If you have a smaller blender you might need to work in batches. Place the lid firmly and blend until soup is the consistency you like. Some like it chunkier than others, I prefer mine well-blended. Once you have the desired consistency, pour contents of the blender into a large bowl. Whisk in lemon juice and vinegar. Add the spices then slowly whisk in the oil in a small, steady stream. Add salt and pepper to taste and garnish with hemp hearts.
Note:
*You can play around with different vegetables or even fruits! Try adding beets, carrots, green apples, or grapes. There are also many creative options for garnishing like avocados, pumpkin seeds, hemp hearts, feta or parmesan cheese, croutons, pesto, bacon, olives, or crispy prosciutto. The photo featured here has hemp hearts and bacon!
*Never eat from the container as enzymes in saliva will cause the food to break down and the soup will separate and become watery
