A healthy, cool way to cure your craving for chips with salsa and guac
This elegant, naturally vegan soup is a perfect way to highlight fresh produce from the farmer’s market, starring tomatoes, red bell peppers, and jalapeños, as well as plenty of fresh herbs. This fresh, spicy take on gazpacho will make an excellent light lunch on its own, or make a cool, delicious dinner paired with our Lemon Mint Quinoa Salad.
Related: Plant-Fueled Fitness
In honor of tomatoes hitting their peak this summer, Chef Francois Payard shared this spectacularly simple chilled tomato soup recipe with us. The cool, complex flavors are also a great option for entertaining this summer: as part of a healthy hors-d’œuvre tray, pour shot glasses full of the soup and guac. Serve cold and enjoy.
Chilled Tomato Soup with Guacamole
For the Soup
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/2 medium Spanish onion, chopped
1 celery stalk, chopped
1/2 fennel bulb
1 red bell pepper, seeds and ribs removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bouquet garni (1 thyme sprig, 1 rosemary sprig, 2 parsley sprigs, and 3 basil sprigs, all tied together with kitchen twine)
8 large, very ripe beefsteak tomatoes, cut into 8 pieces each
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
4 drops Tabasco sauce
1/4 teaspoon celery salt
For the Guacamole
1/2 ripe avocado, coarsely chopped
Grated zest and juice of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeds and ribs removed, finely chopped
1/4 red bell pepper, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
1 cilantro sprig, chopped
Fine sea salt
Freshly ground white pepper
Directions:
1) Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the onion, celery, fennel, bell pepper, and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes, until very soft. Do not let the vegetables brown. Add the bouquet garni, tomatoes, and 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil and cook for 15 minutes, or until the tomatoes have softened. Season with salt and pepper.
2) While the soup is cooking, fill a large pot with very cold water and ice cubes to make an ice water bath. When the soup is ready, place the stockpot in the ice water bath to cool. Remove the bouquet garni.
3) When the soup has cooled, transfer it to a blender and puree until smooth. Pass the purée through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl. Add the Tabasco sauce and celery salt, and season to taste with salt and pepper. Set the soup aside.
4) Place the avocado in a small bowl and mash it with a fork until smooth. Stir in the lime zest and juice, red onion, jalapeño, bell pepper, and cilantro, and season with salt and pepper.
5) Ladle the chilled soup into bowls, or serve in 20 small glasses. Place a spoonful of the guacamole in the center of each one, and garnish with a basil leaf.
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