Tomato & Cherry Gazpacho ♥ Recipe

Today's vegetable soup recipe: A cold summer soup, tomatoes paired with cherries for a slightly sweet gazpacho. Adapted from the Spanish chef Dani Garcia known for whimsical and delicious interpretations of Spanish cuisine. Beautiful color, yes?! Low carb. Weight Watchers 0 points.

Here in Missouri, we're into our third (and final, oh no!) month of summer tomatoes. Those first few weeks, we eat tomatoes like apples, straight from the hand, or slice them onto plates and salads, no recipes required. But by September (yikes!), that first tomato lust has been slaked and it somehow feels right, again, for tomatoes to become 'ingredients' in recipes, even if simple-simple recipes like this riff on a classic gazpacho, the cold tomato-based soup that has no recipe twins, just first and second cousins.

This gazpacho recipe from Dani Garcia, a rising-star chef in Spain, pairs tomatoes with cherries -- not cherry tomatoes, but sour cherries from Wisconsin, thanks to the generosity of my friend Anne of St. Louis' great kitchen store and cooking school, Kitchen Conservatory (do check out her brand-new website!). The cherries brighten the color, deepen the flavor and turn the gazpacho slightly sweet but still, this is a 'savory' gazpacho soup.

Tomato & Cherry Gazpacho

Hands-on time: 15 minutes
Time to table: 15 minutes but can be made ahead of time and served chilled later
Makes 3-1/2 cups

1 pound good summer tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
1/2 a small onion, roughly chopped
1 small green pepper, roughly chopped
1 jalapeño, seeds and membrane removed, roughly chopped
1 anchovy, optional but really adds nuance
1 tablespoon fresh garlic, roughly chopped
8 ounces sour cherries, fresh or frozen
1 slice bread (I used a dense German bread but use any bread with some density)
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar (or to taste)
Salt to taste

Add all the ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Serve topped with feta or a spoonful of basil pesto.

NUTRITION ESTIMATE
Per Half Cup: 47Cal; 2g Protein; 0g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 10g Carb; 2g Fiber; 8NetCarb; 50mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 0 points

Per Cup: 83Cal; 3g Protein; 1g Tot Fat; 0g Sat Fat; 18g Carb; 3g Fiber; 15NetCarb; 87mg Sodium; 0mg Cholesterol; Weight Watchers 1 point

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION
Adapted from a recipe published in the Christian Science Monitor

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VEGETABLE RECIPES from the ARCHIVES
~ Fruity Gazpacho, a beautiful green color, from Kitchen Parade ~
~ Elise's Tomato Gazpacho ~

~ more cold soup recipes ~
~ more tomato recipes ~
~ more Weight Watchers recipes ~
~ more low-carb recipes ~

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