Easy dinner recipes: Keep cool with 3 gazpacho ideas for Gluten-free Wednesday

Gluten-free gazpacho? Sure, classic gazpacho is built around soaked bread, but you won’t miss it with these rich takes on the refreshing cold soup. From spicy cucumber to Thomas Keller’s refreshing vegetable, to a reader favorite from Urth Cafe, these no-cook soups will keep your kitchen cool and your dinner guests refreshed.

Spicy cucumber gazpacho: This cool, vibrant green gazpacho from Esperanza An Auberge Resort at Cabo San Lucas packs flavor with refreshing cucumber, creamy yogurt, fresh lime juice, mint and cilantro, along with a nice jolt of heat from Thai chile pasta and jalapeno. The soup comes together in only 20 minutes.

Thomas Keller’s gazpacho: This gazpacho from Thomas Keller, featured as part of a Master Class on soups, is a perfect way to beat the heat. And it’s substantial enough to be a meal on its own. The soup itself comes together in less than 30 minutes. The recipe calls for chilling it overnight before blending and serving; this helps the flavors to develop and marry, though I’ve made the morning of, and also shortly before serving (chill over an ice bath, and leave a little thyme in while blending) and found the flavors still incredibly bright and refreshing.

Urth Cafe’s gazpacho: Fresh tomato, cucumber, onion and bell pepper form the base of this soup, brightened with a touch of red wine vinegar and lemon juice and spiced with cayenne pepper and hot sauce. The dish itself comes together in only 30 minutes, then simply chill before serving. You can find the recipe below.

URTH CAFE’S GAZPACHO

Total time: 30 minutes, plus chilling time for the gazpacho | Serves 6
Note: Adapted from Urth Caffe.

1 1/2 pounds tomatoes (about 4), peeled, seeded and chopped (about 2 cups)
1 1/2 cups chopped seedless Persian cucumber (from about 4 whole)
1 cup diced onion (from about 1/2 whole)
1/2 cup diced green bell pepper (from about 1/4 whole)
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup tomato juice, more to taste
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Tabasco sauce, or other hot sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice (from about 1/2 lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon diced fresh chives

1. In a blender, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomato juice and vinegar. Puree the mixture, then pour into a medium bowl.

2. Season with 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt, or to taste (amount of salt can vary depending on the brand of tomato juice, if purchased), one-half teaspoon each of black pepper and cayenne pepper, and one-fourth teaspoon each of the Tabasco, lemon juice and olive oil. Taste and adjust seasonings and flavoring as desired.

3. Cover and refrigerate the gazpacho until well-chilled. Stir in the chives, and thin if desired with additional tomato juice or water. Taste and adjust the seasonings once more. This makes a generous quart of gazpacho.

Each serving: 125 calories; 2 grams protein; 10 grams carbohydrates; 2 grams fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 6 grams sugar; 701 mg sodium.

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