Talk about a healthy soup. This is raw. Vegan (if you exclude Worchestershire sauce). Full of fresh and seasonal vegetables. And my husband ate it too! It’s summertime gazpacho, one of the easiest and quickest soups making it perfect for summer. No stove or oven needed.

This is my mom’s recipe, which is probably my grandmother’s too. I used to help chop vegetables because I used to enjoy that when I was a youngin’ just like I do now. This soup is extra tasty with toasted bread with hummus and feta cheese on top to make it a full meal. I recommend it. Also perfect for lunch or dinner, or a refreshing afternoon snack. It’s full of veggies, you can’t go wrong.

Summer Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 24 oz tomato juice
• 2 T olive oil
• 2 T red wine vinegar
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 tsp Worchestershire sauce (not vegan, has anchovies, who knew?)
• 2 tomatoes
• 1/4 C onion
• 1/2 C red bell pepper
• 1/2 C cucumber
• 1/2 C celery
• 1/2 C corn kernels (I used from a frozen bag)
• 2 tsp parsley
• 1 tsp chives

Instructions

• Chop all vegetables and add to large bowl or container.
• In blender, combine tomato juice, olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, chives, worchestershire sauce, red wine vinegar, and one tomato. Blend until combined.
• Pour on top of vegetables in  large serving bowl.
• Refrigerate and serve cold.

Gazpacho can come in so many variations. There are fruity ones like watermelon or canteloupe. There are green ones, pureed ones, etc. I really like this one best, probably because it’s a family recipe! But I also like textured soups more than a puree. I don’t like a soup to be like drinking a smoothie. There is a time for smoothies and a time for soups. Keep your soups chunky.

What a difference a year makes! I made this soup last July, which is the last time I made it. I had just started to blog, and here’s the post from then. What a newbie I was…I didn’t even photograph on place mats.

What a nice little cup of soup.