Green Gazpacho with cucumber, avocado & mint
Green Gazpacho? Maybe purists would take exception to me calling this refreshing, raw cold soup gazpacho. That’s because, unlike the Spanish original, it isn’t based on tomatoes.
Instead, I’ve used cucumber, avocado and yellow pepper, which I find much less acidic. Perfect for a hot day, this Green Gazpacho’s flavoured with invigorating lime, mint and chilli.
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WAITER, THERE’S A FLY IN MY SOUP. AND IT’S COLD.
I think the reason I prefer to call this soup a gazpacho is because the phrase ‘cold soup’ perhaps conjures up largely negative images to those of us Brits who aren’t used to having a hot, sunny climate that cries out for such dishes.
To many of us, cold soup sounds like grounds for complaint only one rung below ‘waiter, there’s a fly in my soup’.
Green Gazpacho, on the other hand, sounds much more inviting.
As I write this, Britain is basking in the longest heatwave for donkey’s years. So I think now’s the perfect time to discover how satisfying, delicious and easy whizzing up fresh, raw veggies can be.
When it’s blazing outside, no one wants to spend ages in a hot kitchen. So raw food like gazpacho is perfect. Light, fresh and made in about 15 minutes.
EAT YOUR VEGGIES
With the addition of a few flavourings and using different vegetables, it’s possible to come up with loads of interesting combinations and tastes for gazpacho.
Think of it as a savoury smoothie or salad soup if you like.
Regular readers will know that getting people to eat more vegetables is something of a passion of mine. And this Green Gazpacho is a great way of packing more veg into your diet (I like to think of avocado as an honorary vegetable).
MAKING GREEN GAZPACHO
You’re going to need something in which to whizz up your gazpacho and that could be a regular food processor or blender, a stick blender, or one of the various bullet blenders on the market.
In the recipe card at the end, I’ve given amounts for 2 servings. This is more than would fit in my Nutribullet so I just put the ingredients in a large bowl and use a stick blender to whizz everything together.
I like to increase the creaminess provided by the avocado by including natural yogurt. But if you want to keep the gazpacho completely plant-based then use coconut milk, coconut yogurt or even plain water.
So that there’s still some texture in my gazpachos, I stop blending before it’s completely smooth. But go ahead and make yours as smooth or as chunky as you like.
If you find the soup a little too thick, just add water and blend again.
If you want your gazpacho really cold, put it in the fridge for an hour or so. You could whizz in a few ice cubes. Do note though, that this will initially make your gazpacho thicker. Alternatively, put ice cubes into the bowls as you serve.
Before serving, taste the Green Gazpacho again and add more salt, pepper or lime juice if needed.
TOPPINGS
I like to add toppings to the soup as I love contrasts of texture. Of course it also packs more of those all-important vegetables into the meal.
The bright colours make the bowl look so much more inviting too.
Here, I’ve added sliced cucumber, de-seeded and chopped tomatoes, chopped red chillies and mint. There’s also a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil plus blobs of natural yogurt: these add healthy fats and make the gazpacho a little more filling.
Possibilities for toppings are endless. Here’s just a few ideas: chopped pickled chillies, grated lime zest, cubes of avocado, chopped peppers, spring onion, finely chopped red onion, chives, hard-boiled egg, olives.
If you want to give the gazpacho even more of a kick, then have a bottle of fiery sriracha or other chilli sauce on the table, so that everyone can make their bowl as hot as they like.
Of course, once you’ve put all those pretty toppings on, to eat the gazpacho you just have to swirl them all together!
With signs that the heatwave is set to continue for a while yet, I’ll think I’ll definitely be whizzing up some more tasty veg gazpachos.
Have you made my Green Gazpacho?
Leave a comment & don’t forget to rate the recipe.
Cucumber, Avocado & Mint Gazpacho
A refreshing raw soup with cucumber, avocado & yellow pepper, this green gazpacho is flavoured with refreshing lime, mint and chilli. Perfect on a hot day.
Ingredients
- 1 medium cucumber seeds removed, roughly chopped
- 1 medium avocado peeled, stone removed, flesh chopped
- 1 medium yellow pepper chopped
- 3 spring onions sliced
- 1 lime juice only
- 1-2 medium red chillies chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 150 ml natural yogurt
- 1 small bunch mint leaves picked
- salt & pepper to taste
Suggested Toppings (all optional)
- 6-8 slices cucumber
- 2 medium tomatoes de-seeded, diced finely
- 0.5 - 1 medium red chilli diced finely
- 1 tbsp plain yogurt
- 1-2 tbsp mint torn or roughly chopped
- drizzle extra virgin olive oil
- ice cubes optional
- drizzle sriracha or other chilli sauce optional
Instructions
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Put all the ingredients for the gazpacho, except the toppings, in a food processor or blender, or in a large bowl if using a stick blender.
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Blend until the gazpacho is your desired consistency; add more water to make it thinner.
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To make the gazpacho colder, leave in the fridge for an hour or more before serving or blend in some ice cubes (note that the latter will make the gazpacho thicker at first).
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Divide the gazpacho between 2 bowls and add the toppings before serving. Put a few ice cubes in each bowl if liked.
Like this recipe? Try Gazpacho Smoothie with Wild Garlic
