As I expected, bell peppers were abundantly available at the market today. So, of course, were tomatoes. I'm sticking to my plan to make gazpacho.

Herbs were also abundant, and I bought fresh thyme and lemon basil. Tomato is a wonderful canvas for the flavors of fresh herbs. The herbs you use for this dish will determine what its character will be; whether you'll want to serve it with white or red wine, or perhaps with beer; whether you'll use it to accompany a juicy hamburger or barbecued chicken; or just a platter of nice cheeses with bread. I made enough to have through the weekend, with leftovers on Monday. Gazpacho is a salad you can make ahead to add flavor and nutrition to meals, with a very low calorie count.


Gazpacho ingredients

The recipe:

Serves: 8
Late Summer Gazpacho

I used lemon basil with this batch. With this punchy herb, I may serve the cold soup with a crisp white wine and a whole-grain roll or muffin for a light lunch. Or I can serve it tomorrow with cool frothy autumn ale to accompany baked or barbecued chicken, with a side of cornbread or baby red potatoes.

A note on ingredient amounts: Calorie counts are based on 650 grams of tomato and about 280 grams of bell peppers is 3-4 peppers.

3-4 bell peppers, coarsely chopped
1/2 onion, coarsely chopped
1 clove garlic, coarsely chopped
2 large or 3 medium tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 tsp chopped fresh herbs
3 tbsp red wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
2 scallions
1 cup water

Chop all the vegetables coarsely. Throw all but half of the bell pepper and cucumber into the blender with the tomatoes, onion, garlic and fresh herbs.

Blend everything together into a smooth puree.

Add the oil and vinegar and season to taste.

Put the gazpacho in the refrigerator for 2 hours to rest and chill.

Chop the rest of the bell pepper and cucumber finely, along with the scallions.

Add the vegetables to the soup. Taste, and correct the seasonings, adding some or all of the water, as desired, to thin the soup a bit.

Nutrition Facts: