During the summer months, I get really excited about produce. Here in Minnesota, our season for fresh local produce is fairly short, so when it hits, all I crave are veggies. That time is right now. Am I the only one that is giddy about this?

It also happens to be hotter than hot in these parts. My pores have never been so cleansed thanks to all the sweating that’s going on! The last thing I want to do when I come in from the outside is cook. We avoid all sources of heat in our house and would prefer to eat our food cold.

It’s for these two reasons that Gazpacho is the perfect dish. It highlights the summer bounty of produce and doesn’t require any heat. It also happens to be delicious! If you’re not familiar with Gazpacho, let me introduce you. It hails from Spain and is really like eating a giant salad but in soup form. Fun, right?  It also gets better with time, making it the perfect dish to put together in advance and eat all week long. Enjoy!

Gazpacho

Note: it is imperative that you process each vegetable separately in the food processor before adding to the bowl. If you do everything together, it gets mushy and muddled. Trust me.

• 2 medium cucumbers, seeded and peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded – yellow or orange work too
• 4 plum tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 24 ounces tomato juice or vegetable juice
• 1/4 cup sherry or red wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over-process!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop. Serve with a baguette. It is also very tasty with crumbled feta and/or avocado on top.