340/365: National Gazpacho Day*

If you’re a fan of eating cold soup in one of the coldest months of the year, then…you’re weird. But apparently, not alone. December 6 is National Gazpacho Day!

It’s also National Microwave Oven Day and National Cook for Christmas Day. I suppose we could have taken the easy way out and nuked a bag of microwave popcorn, but where’s the fun in that? And, Christmas is still nearly three weeks away. Unless we cooked something that could then be frozen, I’m pretty sure it would be stale or moldy by then. I’d rather not spend the magical day praying to the porcelain gods, so gazpacho it is! Even though it makes no sense to me, having this holiday now. Kind of like National Vichyssoise Day made no sense to me in November.

Gazpacho is a tomato-based vegetable soup, usually served cold, that originated in southern Spain. It’s a staple of Spanish and Portugese cuisine. (Well, of course it is. The climate there is decidedly warmer. Although even over there, it’s more often considered a summer dish). Most recipes include some or all of the following ingredients: stale bread, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion and garlic, olive oil, wine vinegar, water, and salt. The soup can be traced back to ancient times, and may have its roots either the Moors or Romans. (Let’s face it, it was probably the Romans. They had their hands in everything else back in the day).

I was actually excited to find a recipe for Gazpacho Shooters. These are both simple and fun, and don’t require a lot of prep work – and, they contain most of the key ingredients, anyway. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients

1 16 oz. container salsa
1 cup Bloody Mary mix
3/4 cup finely chopped cucumber
1/2 cup water

Preparation

Stir together salsa, Bloody Mary mix, cucumber, and water. Cover and chill until ready to serve. Serve gazpacho in 2- to 4-oz. shot glasses. Garnish with cucumber sticks, if desired.

We did just that, and I have to say, this was one of the more fun food holidays of the whole year! They were delicious. And couldn’t have been easier to make.

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• Recipes | Summery Gazpacho (thejournalist.ie)