Cooking with Shonte. Gazpacho

Come and join our house chef, Shonte', nurse practitioner and farmer for her monthly live cooking sessions.  

She writes all of her own recipes, and adds her little tips and tricks to bring mouth watering flavors to her dishes.   

You can cook with her or just join to watch. 

You can also watch on our facebook Insiders group, as we stream live.     

This month Shonte is bringing her twist to the refreshing cold soup; Gazpacho.  Just in time for summer. 

Gazpacho with Fresh Garlic Bread

I know, I know. This sounds intimidating. But trust me, this is a super easy, “Shonteifed” refreshing spring dish.  This can be frozen for later use and served cold or hot. This is a Spanish-style soup, make this for your friends and family and they will think you are super fancy. No cooking is required. It's a nice light snack. You will need a blender for this dish though.

You are welcome to omit or add to topper ingredients. Get creative with this, add some chickpeas, zucchini, eggplant, corn, etc.

Ingredients

• 3-4 large ripped vine tomatoes, you can even use purple or heirloom tomatoes to make it a bit sweeter
• 1 whole chopped cucumber, peel one-half
• 1 shallot
• 6 cloves of garlic
• ¼ cup of olive oil or avocado oil
• Half bundle of chopped raw asparagus
• ½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
• 1  red bell pepper
• Sliced loaf of French bread
• ½ cup chopped grape tomatoes
• ½ bundle of chopped fresh parsley and cilantro
• 1 half chopped red onion
• 1 serrano/jalapeno pepper (optional)

Tools

• Blender/ immersion blender, or food processor
• Cutting board
• Chef Knife
• Bowl
• Cast iron skillet or nonstick skillet
• Bread knife

Directions

• Chop onion, serrano/jalapeno pepper, asparagus, grape tomatoes, shallot, 4 cloves of garlic, bell pepper,  cucumber (don't forget to peel half of it then chop separately),  roughly chop 3 ripe tomatoes,  chop cilantro and parsley
• What's going in the blender: 3 chopped ripped tomatoes, half of the peeled cucumber, shallot, 4 cloves of garlic, ¼ cup of olive or avocado oil, sherry vinegar, ½ bell pepper, smoked paprika, salt and pepper, and serrano/jalapeno pepper. Blend everything until smooth. Add more oil to smooth out if needed. Refrigerate to cool before serving.
• In a separate bowl combine the following chopped ingredients: (chop to your thickness preference because this will be the topper): cilantro, parsley, asparagus, grape tomatoes, red onion, the other half of red bell pepper, ½ of the unpeeled cucumber, 1 clove of garlic(optional), a drizzle of olive oil, salt, and pepper to taste. Refrigerate to cool before serving.
• Slice a loaf of French bread
• Heat cast iron skillet with olive oil, and season the bottom of the pan with salt and pepper, once hot, add slices of bread, and brown on both sides (repeat as many times as needed)
• Once browned and while it is hot, cut a clove of garlic in half and spread on both sides (use the flat side of the garlic clove as a tool,  as if you are spreading it onto the bread like butter)
• Let's combine. In a serving bowl, pour the smooth gazpacho, drizzle with olive oil, and top with the topper chopped vegetables. If you want to serve this warm, microwave or heat on the stovetop the blended gazpacho then top with the cold chopped topper vegetables. Serve alongside with the warmed garlic bread
• SOOO Tasty and Fancy, ENJOY!!