Golden Gazpacho And Vegetable Spread

Golden Gazpacho

4 to 5 small to medium tomatoes
(roma works well but use your favorite variety or even a combination of two varieties)
1 stalk celery –optional
1 cucumber; peeled and seeded
½ of a small zucchini; peeled and seeded if necessary
½ yellow sweet bell pepper; seeded and all white bits trimmed away
3 green onions

Chop all these vegetables into a very small dice. You might even want to mince the onion.

In a deep container (such as a small pitcher or the container that came with your submersion blender)
mix half the amount of each of the diced vegetables with 1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeno, 3 to 4 tablespoons lime juice, ½ teaspoon cider vinegar, ¼ cup olive oil. 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper. Using a submersion blender puree this mixture. You’re kind of making juice here but it’s ok to leave some small bits. Yes; you can use a regular counter top blender if you have one. You may need to work in batches if your container isn’t large enough.

Pour the pureed mixture into a large bowl and mix in the other half of the chopped vegetables. Mix well.

Chill soup for at least 4 hours; overnight is even better.

Serve cold.

Top each serving with sliced avocado, a small dollop of sour cream, and chopped cilantro if desired.

——– and ——–

Vegetable Spread

½ tablespoon finely chopped celery
½ tablespoon finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons shredded carrot
½ tablespoon finely chopped yellow, red, or green bell pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped cucumber; peeled and seeded
4 oz cream cheese
1 tablespoon sour cream
½ tablespoon lemon juice
dash of white pepper
dash of salt

Blend all ingredients on low speed until well mix. Chill.

Serve as a spread for bagels, crackers, crisp breads, or even as a sandwich spread with a slice of tomato and crisp lettuce leaves.

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