cucumber Archives - Pure Thyme

I don’t know about you, but we are having a heat wave here in New Jersey right now. I need something refreshingly cold and delicious to feed my family and keep us cool during these hot summer months. The trip to our local farmer’s market this past weekend left me with some cucumbers and of course, beautiful and juicy jersey tomatoes. What better way to use these fresh veggies than to make the perfect summertime gazpacho soup.

Traditionally, Gazpacho is made with uncooked vegetables, but I couldn’t resist grilling the tomatoes and roasting some peppers for some fire-roasted goodness. Add some other fresh diced vegetables to this like celery or corn. I also added some fresh diced mango because my kids love fruit and that was the perfect addition.

This is my version of this classic Spanish soup.

Enjoy!

This recipe is adapted from The Barefoot Contessa.

Summer Fest Fire-Roasted Tomato and Cucumber Gazpacho

Yield: 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

4 medium tomatoes, sliced and grilled

4 plum tomatoes, sliced and grilled

1 cup roasted red pepper, diced

1 cup roasted poblano pepper, diced

2 cups cucumber, diced

1 cup red onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

2 limes, 1 juiced and 1 sliced

¼ cup white wine vinegar

1 ½ tsp ground coriander

1 ½ tsp ground cumin

¼ cup cilantro, minced

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced (optional)

Directions:

Roast peppers over a gas flame on your stove, turning with tongs until skin is evenly charred. Transfer to plate and allow to cool. Peel the charred skin by hand. Once peeled cut away the stems, seeds and veins.

Brush tomatoes with 1 tsp of olive oil. Place the tomatoes on grill and cook 5-7 minutes on each side, or until slightly charred. Remove from heat and set aside.

Add grilled tomatoes, ½ cup diced cucumber, ½ cup roasted red pepper, ½ cup roasted poblano pepper, garlic, coriander, cumin, cilantro, juice of 1 lime and red wine vinegar to cuisinart or blender. Puree until smooth.

Transfer to a bowl and mix in remaining ingredients. Season with fresh black pepper and chill in the refrigerator minimum 4 hours to allow the flavors to combine. The colder the better with this soup. To serve garnish with fresh minced cilantro and serve with lime wedges.

I would definitely make this next time with fresh tomato juice instead of canned. I am making it again very soon, so watch for the update. I don’t know why I used canned in the first place when I am surrounded by so many gorgeous tomatoes!

*I have updated this recipe and removed canned tomato juice – it was keeing me up at night and giving me nightmares! 😉

Summer Fest is a season long event where Food Network Editors team up with blogs to share tips and recipes about seasonal produce. During Summer Fest, we celebrate the season’s bounty of fresh fruit and veggies. This week we are sharing recipes using cucumbers. For more inspired dishes cooking with cucumbers, be sure to check out all these great sites that are participating in Summer Fest this week.

Pinch My Salt: Chilled Cucumber, Kefir and Avocado Soup

What’s Gaby Cooking: Cucumber-Basil Gimlet

In Jennie’s Kitchen: Radish-Cucumber Crostini

Big Girl Small Kitchen: Spicy Cucumber Salad with Shallot, Ginger and Mint

Grecian Kitchen: Summer Cucumber Salad

And Love It Too: Cucumber, Mint and Watermelon Salad

Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cucumbers Coolers with Agave Simple Syrup

Cooking With My Kid: Cucumber Limeade

FN Dish: Summer Fest: Cucumber Recipes

CIA Dropout: Relishing Cucumbers

Healthy Eats: Cool Cucumber Soup

Food for 7 Stages of Life: Cucumber Cherry Salsa