Roasted Vegetable Gazpacho

I always think of my Mom when I make Gazpacho, because she can’t say “Gazpacho.” Rather, she always says, “Gestapo,” which made me very tempted to call this dish Roasted Gestapo. Alas, I kept the traditional name for a new take on an old summer classic. As you can probably guess, this dish was derived from the leftover farmer’s market fare for the week. You think I would learn my lesson! In any case, I hope you enjoy the roasted version of what I can only describe as the taste of summer!

Ingredients:

1 eggplant, skin removed and cut into ½ inch cubes

1 zucchini, cut into ½ inch cubes

1 c. of chopped carrots (be sure to leave the pieces about ½ inches)

4 medium tomatoes

1 red pepper seeds removed

1 small onion chopped

2-3 cloves of garlic chopped

2-3 tsp of olive oil

1 Tbsp of lime juice (1/2 of a lime)

¼ tsp. of red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you like your soup)

Salt and pepper to taste

Garlic powder to taste

¼ c. Dry white wine

Chopped Basil (optional)

Grated parmesan cheese (optional)

Croutons (Recipe Follows) (Optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

2. Place the tomatoes and red pepper on one rimmed baking sheet (I line mine with foil for any drippings that occur), and place the chopped eggplant, zucchini, and carrot on another rimmed baking sheet.

3. Once oven is preheated, place the tomatoes on the upper middle rack of the oven, and place the eggplant, zucchini, and carrots on the lower middle rack. Roast for approximately 40 minutes or until the tomatoes and pepper begin to blister.

4. Meanwhile, while the vegetables are roasting, sauté the onions and garlic in the olive oil in a large heavy bottom pot until tender. Remove from heat, season with salt and pepper, and set pot aside. Allow the onions and garlic to cool in the pot, olive oil remaining.

5. Once vegetables in the oven have reached desired level of roast, remove from oven. Allow the tomatoes and red pepper to cool. Add the eggplant, carrots, and zucchini to the onion and garlic.

6. Once tomatoes have cooled, remove skins and discard.  Process tomatoes in blender or food processor until smooth. Meanwhile, slice the roasted red pepper into thin strips and add to the eggplant, carrot, zucchini, onions, and garlic in pot. Add the puréed tomatoes to the vegetable mixture and stir all of the ingredients together.

7. Add the lime juice, red pepper flakes, and wine to the soup mixture. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste. Chill for at least 6-8 hours. Top with croutons (recipe follows), parmesan cheese, and basil if desired.

Croutons

Ingredients:

½ loaf of day old bread sliced into ½ inch cubes (I used ½ of a leftover country loaf)

½ stick of butter or ¼ c. Earth Balance or other vegan butter

1 Tbsp of granulated garlic plus extra to taste

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Melt the butter or margarine completely. Add the cubes of bread to the butter and toss until well coated. Add the garlic to the buttered cubes and toss until well coated. Place cubes in a single layer on rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. At this point, you may want to add more granulated garlic to the bread cubes if you like extra garlic.

Place the bread into the preheated oven and toast for 5 minutes. Shake or flip the cubes and return to the oven and continue to toast for an additional 5 minutes. Continue the shaking and toasting of the cubes checking every 5 minutes until the croutons are well toasted. Will keep in an airtight container for two days.