Southwestern Gazpacho is a light, flavorful, slightly spicy soup served cold … great for an outdoor last day of summer get together. It’s got just a modest amount of mild green chile for that awesome Hatch flavor.
I just made this fresh Southwestern Gazpacho for a family get together – it’s a great side dish at a party. My family thought it was great and particularly liked the change of pace; how often do we have a cold soup as a main dish. Now, people might mistake this for a salsa, which it could be used as, but it’s actually a cold soup. It is more liquid than a salsa, so you would serve it in cups or bowls. It’s really a very good soup and can also be mixed in with other dishes. Also note that you can add meat or cheese to it, but I think it’s really best just as it is.
I used mild green chiles for this, which just adds that New Mexico unique chile flavor without much heat. I would not use any chile hotter than a medium (at most) as the heat will just dominate all the other fresh garden flavors. Also note that you could add spices, like cumin or chile powder, but this would tend to mask the fresh flavor of the vegetables and make it more like a salsa. The fresh vegetables are the whole point here,
This is ideal for get togethers like a Sunday brunch. It definitely adds another dimension yet is light and refreshing. I like to serve it in a glass bowl with a ladle and cups. Hope you like it!
- 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
- 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
- 4 roma tomatoes
- 1 medium red onion
- 1 cup diced mild green chiles
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 3 cups tomato juice
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar
- ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
- ½ tbsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- Coarsely chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. One at a time, put each vegetable into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse just until coarsely chopped. Do not overdo it!
- After each vegetable is chopped, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.
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