by Dottie Klein
Serves: 2 people. Preparation time: ½ hour. Chill time: 4 hours
- 1 Large Cucumber
- 1 Large Tomato
- 2 Medium Sized Avocodos
- 1 Small Red Onion
- 1 (or 2) Garlic Cloves (to taste)
- 1 Green or Red Bell Pepper (optional to taste)
- ¼ C. Firmly Packed Cilantro
- 1 T. Lime Juice
- 2 Lime Wedges
- 1 T. Thyme Leaves
- 1 Small Can of Black Olives.
- 1 C. Tomato Juice
- 3 C. Chicken Broth
- 4-8 Cooked Shrimp
- ½ C. Cooked Crab or Lobster Meat (optional to taste)
- 6-10 Garlic Croutons or Corn Chips (optional garnish)
Peel, seed and chop the cucumber and avocados. You can save two avocado slices as garnish at the end. Seed and chop the tomato, pepper(s) and black olives. Finely chop the garlic clove(s) and onion. Other vegetables like chopped celery can be added for taste and texture.
In a blender, add the broth, tomato juice, cilantro, cucumber and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Add half the chopped avocado and blend again. Pour into a chilling bowl. Save one slice of avocado and one shrimp for each garnish. Add the remaining avocado pieces, tomato chunks, onion, garlic, pepper(s), lime wedges, thyme, shrimp and other seafood and just mix in gently with a wooden spoon. Chill for at least 4 hours. Serve in a nice bowl and garnish the top of each bowl with the last slices of avocado and shrimp (as pictured) or use Garlic Croutons or Corn Chips. Make it a meal by serving it with Cheese Nachos and a glass of Sangria. It's a summer treat.
"Gazpacho" originated in the southern region of Andalusia, Spain (Seville) and was made by the Arabs in the area. It means "soaked bread" in Arabic because it originally contained stale bread as one of the main ingredients. It is popular today in all Spanish and Portuguese cultures including the Americas. Gazpacho is now almost a generic term for chilled tomato-based soup. In the 1988 Academy Award winning Spanish film "Women On The Edge Of A Nervous Breakdown", a spiked gazpacho soup plays a central part in the plot.
