Oriental gazpacho

This dish demonstrates how each chef can put his own unique stamp on a gazpacho recipe. This particular gazpacho has distinctively Eastern undercurrents, as evidenced by the use of soy sauce, lo mein noodles, and rice vinegar. Not surprisingly, this blending of cultures yields delicious results!

• Serves 6 to 8
• 15 minutes preparation + chilling time
• Difficulty: easy

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) olive oil
• 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz) rice vinegar
• 6 ripe medium tomatoes, halved
• 1 medium cucumber
• 1 medium zucchini
• 1 medium green bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 1 cup (8 fl. oz) vegetable broth
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1/8 teaspoon Tabasco sauce

To garnish

• Finely chopped scallions
• Canned lo mein noodles

Preparation

Process the olive oil, vinegar, half of the tomatoes, the cucumber, the zucchini, half the green bell peppers and 1/2 cup (4 fl. oz) of the vegetable broth in a blender or food processor and transfer to a large bowl.

Add the remaining vegetables and vegetable broth to the blender, process, and transfer to the large bowl.

Pass the contents of the bowl through a sieve (if you prefer you can dilute the mixture with water). Add the soy sauce and the Tabasco sauce, stir well, and refrigerate until chilled.

Immediately before serving, sprinkle the soup with the scallions and lo mein noodles.

See also...

Traditional Gazpacho. This is the most traditional and basic gazpacho recipe. If you've never tried gazpacho before, you should start by this one to appreciate the subtle differences amongst the different recipes we offer.