My BEST Gazpacho! (Healthy, Delicious & Low Carb!)

A refreshing Spanish soup in a French bowl!

This very simple & delicious Spanish soup tastes great on a hot day and it is a great accompaniment, or appetizer to serve with many Mexican and American meals.

Ingredients:

6 tomatoes

2 cucumbers

1/2 orange or red bell pepper, chopped

1/4 - 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 small leek, trimmed, sliced and chopped

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt

1 stalk celery, minced

2 -3 pickled jalapeno peppers, seeded and chopped

Garnishes:

8 - 10 tablespoons sour cream (optional)

8 - 10 avocado slices (optional)

8 - 10 slices of pickled jalapeno (optional)

16 - 20 thin slices of orange or red bell pepper (optional)

Method:

Peel the tomatoes. Chop one of the peeled tomatoes and set aside. Quarter the remaining 5 tomatoes and place in a food processor.

Peel the cucumbers and slice in half lengthwise. Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds. Chop 1 cucumber and add to the food processor. Chop the remaining cucumber and set aside with the chopped tomato.

Add the chopped bell pepper to the food processor. Pulse until liquefied. Add the cilantro, basil, parsley, garlic, leek, oregano, vinegar and salt Process until smooth. 

Stir in the set aside chopped tomato, cucumber, celery and jalapenos.

Refrigerate until completely chilled. (2 hours or overnight) Makes 8 side dish servings or 10 appetizer servings.

If desired, garnish each serving with a tablespoon of sour cream, a slice of avocado, a slice of pickled jalapeno and/or 1 or 2  thin  1 1/2 inch long strips of bell pepper.

Notes: 

I made this chilled soup for my Aunt, who loves gazpacho. She said that this easy to make version is better than the one she orders at her favorite fine dining restaurant!

For Seafood Gazpacho, add some cooked shrimp and/or scallops to the soup.

Nutritional info per serving, (1/8, without garnishes) approximately:

33.56 calories ~ .35 grams fat ~ 5.59 grams net carbs ~ 1.48 grams protein

Nutritional info per serving, (1/8, with garnishes) approximately:

105.5 calories ~ 6.6 grams protein ~ 7.7 grams net carbs ~ 2.46 grams protein