Gazpacho for P90x Phase I
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
- 2 shallots
- 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
- 1/4 tsp white pepper
- 28 ounces canned tomato low sodium
- 3 cups tomato juice low sodium
- 2 1/2 cups hothouse cucumbers peeled & diced
- 1/2 cup carrots peeled & diced
- 3/4 cup green & red bell peppers seeded & diced
- 1/2 red onion diced
- 1/4 cup fresh oregano chopped
- 1/4 cup basil chopped
- 1/4 cup italian parsley chopped
- 1/4 tsp tabasco sauce
- Carbohydrate 12.8527447221693 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0.501423939162735 g
- Fiber 2.70479002970778 g
- Protein 2.20017972060961 g
- Saturated Fat 0.0907274796893097 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (244g)
- Sodium 210.681357657622 mg
- Sugar 10.1479546924615 g
- Trans Fat 0.128750356701051 g
- Calories 58 calories
Step-by-step
- Place the tomatoes, tomato juice, cucumbers, carrots, green and red peppers, onion, shallots, and garlic in a Food Processor or Blender and process until smooth.
- Add the vinegar, lemon juice, paprika, oregano, basil, parsley and white pepper and process to combine.
- Add Tabasco sauce to taste and blend. Chill for several hours before serving.
Using a food processor rather than a high-powered blender changes the physical texture of raw vegetable soups by leaving microscopic fragments of carrot and cucumber behind instead of creating an emulsion. Processing raw aromatics like garlic and shallots directly with canned tomatoes distributes their volatile compounds evenly throughout the liquid base. Chilling this mixture for a minimum of four hours allows the cellular walls of the diced vegetables to soften while absorbing the red wine vinegar and lemon juice. Raw carrots contain dense cellular structures that resist breakdown, meaning they must be cut into quarter-inch dice before processing to prevent hard bits in the finished soup. White pepper provides a sharp, earthy heat without introducing the dark flecks associated with black peppercorns. Pairing raw vegetable soup requires balancing the lack of dietary fats and cooked proteins present in the dish. Grilled flank steak sliced thin against the grain supplies the savory umami and fat needed to offset the high acidity of the tomato base. Crusty sourdough bread brushed with olive oil and toasted until golden brown introduces the necessary textural contrast and caloric density missing from a twenty-calorie bowl of cold vegetables. Over-blending the vegetables creates a frothy, aerated consistency that incorporates too much oxygen and mutes the bright herbal notes of the fresh oregano and basil. Adding ice cubes directly to the bowl lowers the serving temperature instantly without diluting the flavor profile if accounted for in the initial seasoning. Storing the soup in airtight glass containers preserves the volatile aromatics for up to three days in the refrigerator.
