These hot summer days deserve nothing less than the crispest, coolest soup around: green gazpacho! And nothing could make it better than homemade Green Gazpacho with Gluten Free Croutons!
I grew up as any good southern girl would, eating fried green tomatoes as far into the summer as I could get them. Unless you grow your own tomatoes though, it can be tricky to find farmers willing to pluck unripe tomatoes and bring them to market. Thus, I have been trained to never turn down an offer of precious green tomatoes whenever it presents itself!
This week I faced an unusual challenge: the local farmer’s market actually had oodles of gorgeous green tomato orbs (perhaps they knew I was coming?!). I couldn’t pass them up, so I knew I was going to have to find another way to incorporate these into our menu! (A person can only eat only so many fried green tomatoes, you know!).
Gazpacho is just the ticket. There’s just nothing like a cold soup on a hot summer day.
Typical gazpacho is red — quite red, actually! — so you may be surprised to see how very green this one is. But when presented with an abundance of the green kind, I figured, why not?
I actually think this version is even MORE refreshing than the standard (I’m going to now call it “ordinary”) red gazpacho we’re all familiar with. This fresh green variety is bursting with life! It’s got so much going on in, it’s almost hard to take in. But it’s all good. Very good.
Maybe it’s because I added other farmer’s market goodies like zucchini, fresh rosemary and mint, plus threw in some lime, pepperoncini and Tabasco for oomph. This chilled soup will kick any hot day, and leave you savoring all summer’s freshness in just one bowl!
To develop this recipe, I feel like I pretty much just grabbed every fresh green thing in our kitchen … maybe I did.
Top with easy homemade gluten free croutons, and this is the stuff of legend. Try it for yourself and you can thank me later. (Use any gluten free bread to make easy homemade croutons, but the best gluten free bread does make the best gluten free croutons!)
Green Gazpacho with Gluten Free Croutons
These hot summer days deserve nothing less than the crispest, coolest soup around: green gazpacho! And nothing could make it better than homemade Green Gazpacho with Gluten Free Croutons!
Ingredients
- 2 lbs. green (unripe) tomatoes (approximately 4 large tomatoes)
- 1 large zucchini or cucumber (approximately 3/4 lb)
- 3 pepperoncini (or use 1 jalepeno pepper if you like it spicy)
- 2 slices frozen or stale gluten-free bread
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil (or 1/2 avocado, peeled)
- 3 Tbs. fresh lime juice
- 1 1/2 Tbs. finely grated lime zest
- 1 Tbs. fresh mint leaves
- 1/2 Tbs. fresh rosemary
- 1 1/4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
- Sea salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
- 1/4 cup small cubed watermelon for garnish
- Gluten-free croutons, lime zest and fresh mint leaves for garnish
Instructions
Cut off the top and bottom of the zucchini and the core of the tomatoes, then coarsely chop the green tomatoes and zucchini.
Place in a large food processor or blender and purée until smooth. Add the pepperoncini (remove the tops), gluten free bread, oil, lime juice, zest and herbs. Process until fully incorporated and the herbs are minced.
Add Tabasco, salt and pepper a little at a time, tasting as you go to be sure not to add too much.
Transfer to a large bowl, cover and chill until cold.
Garnish soup with gluten free croutons, lime zest and mint leaves before serving.
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