Around August, those tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers you’ve been nurturing all season long are ready for picking in the garden. (Or if you don’t have a green thumb, you get them on sale at the local grocery store or farmer’s market.) What better way to celebrate the summer bounty than in a delectable chilled soup? This gazpacho recipe is fresh, light and full of summer flavor. It is also low in calories but loaded with vitamins and key nutrients. We stir in fresh corn and then top it with a jumbo lump crab and avocado mixture that adds flavor, texture and protein to the dish and helps keep you full longer.
It’s elegant enough to serve as a first course at a dinner party, and simple and quick enough to make for an easy weeknight dinner on the patio or deck (preferably with a cooling late-summer breeze blowing through).
Gazpacho with Crab and Avocado
(Downloadable/printable pdf version of this recipe)
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, seeded
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
2 salad cucumbers
1 large shallot, peeled
2 cloves garlic, peeled
2 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar
1 Tablespoon hot red pepper sauce
1 3/4 cups low-sodium or no-salt-added tomato or vegetable juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons sugar
1 ear fresh corn, kernels removed
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 Tablespoons fat-free buttermilk
1 Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons freshly chopped basil
2 green onions, green and white parts thinly sliced
1/2 pound jumbo lump crab, picked over
1 small Hass avocado, cut into 1/2-inch dice
Directions:
Roughly chop the tomatoes and red and green peppers (remove core and seeds) and place in a food processor or blender. Peel, seed and roughly chop the cucumbers and add to the food processor. Add the shallot, garlic cloves, olive oil, vinegar, hot pepper sauce, tomato juice, salt, pepper and sugar to the food processor. Process until smooth, about 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl and stir in corn. Chill for 2 hours.
In a medium bowl, whisk the lemon juice with the buttermilk, olive oil, salt and basil. Fold in the crab, avocado and green onion.
Ladle the soup into 8 bowls and mound 1/8 of the crab salad in the center of each bowl and serve.
NUTRITION INFORMATION PER SERVING: 184 Calories; 10 grams Fat; 1.5 grams Saturated Fat; 17 mg Cholesterol; 290 mg Sodium; 18 grams Carbohydrates; 6 grams Fiber; 8 grams Protein
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Looking for more info and want to make an appointment with a registered dietitian? Call 1-855-434-5483 or email ContactUs@henryfordlivewell.com.
