Where it Vegan: Gazpacho

July 27, 2011 By Leanne Vogel October 4, 2017

I recently had my parents over for dinner while Kevin was traveling a couple weeks ago. It’s nice to have the house to myself every once in awhile, but after a couple of weeks I tend to get a bit lonely! When my parents called me on a Monday night to ask what I was doing for dinner on Tuesday, I jumped at the opportunity to have them over.

Dinner with the parents is always a challenging feat. Dad likes red meat, potatoes, and country music [best song EVER!]. Mom likes lobster, couscous and Snatam Kaur [really great artist if you like this type of music]. Saying that opposites attract sums up my parents’ relationship perfectly, and Kevin and I for that matter. Is it like that for you and your spouse too?

So, how did I accommodate everyone? For appetizers, I made potato salad with a side of endive. Dads plate didn’t have any endive. Moms plate had piles of endive and little bacon bits she’d picked out of the potato salad. Dad gobbled them up though.

Our main course was gazpacho served with omega croutons and turkey balls. Dad and I went to town on the turkey balls, so much so that I didn’t have any leftovers to take photographs of! And for dessert, we had vegan peppermint chocolate chip ice cream and strawberries. Mom had the bowl of strawberries, Dad and I loaded up on ice cream sprinkled with healthy toffee bits and carob chips. Dad loved the toffee so much I had to send him home with a couple of squares.

Mission accomplished!

Gazpacho

Author: Leanne Vogel

Recipe type: Vegan, Gluten free, Dairy free, Sugar free, Yeast free, Corn free

Prep time: 10 mins

Total time: 10 mins

Serves: 6 servings

A heavily flavored cold soup that’s light on the tummy, easy to prepare, and contributes to 4 of your daily required veggies!

Ingredients

1 red onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, finely chopped
½ medium cucumber, finely chopped
½ green pepper, seeded and finely chopped
6 stalks of celery, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
3½ cups (875mL/28 fl oz) tomato juice
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup white wine vinegar
¼ cup fresh parsley, finely chopped
⅛ teaspoon white powdered stevia
salt and pepper to taste
1 batch of Omega Croutons – seriously the best crouton you’ll ever make

Instructions

To make your life a whole heck of a lot easier, place the first 6 ingredients in your food processor with an “S” blade and pulse until everything is broken up. Don’t waste your afternoon dicing all of these ingredients!
Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir well. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
To serve, distribute into bowls and top with croutons.

View Nutritional Information (once on page scroll down)

Gazpacho was the “gateway” dish that introduced me to the vegan lifestyle back when I was a teenager. In an attempt to get me inspired by food, my parents had bought me a vegan cookbook for my 17th birthday. The first recipe I tried was of course the easiest recipe in the whole book, gazpacho. A couple months later, I decided to go vegan. It seemed absolutely fitting that I prepare this for my parents, 8 years later… with turkey balls ;)

If you’re interested in reading more about my vegan journey, feel free to check out my about page. Or if you’re wondering why I chose to go back to eating meat, check out my FAQs. Are you vegan? If so, what’s your story? When did you decide to go vegan, and what was the first recipe that inspired you?