easiest gazpacho

i’m always looking for easy and healthy dishes i can make in volume and eat for lunch all week at work. this “semi homemade” gazpacho was a hit and turned out good enough to serve to guests!

in my experience, gazpacho – a cold vegetable soup – is pretty much infinitely variable. usually it’s got a tomato base, plus peppers, onion and cucumber. some recipes call for bread crumbs (for texture) and the other night at a restaurant i even tried a “white” gazpacho that had grapes and smokes mussels in it. (good idea, bad execution)

also, in my experience, texture differs, so it’s up to you to make it how you want it. sometimes it is very smooth, other times it’s more chunky. i like somewhere in the middle.

anyway, i was taking shortcuts, so i started with a quart of trader joe’s garden vegetable soup, two tomatoes, a cucumber, an onion and a red pepper.

i added two cups of water to the tj’s soup.

then i blended one tomato, half the cucumber, half the onion and half the pepper in my food processor until they were fairly finely chopped, although not completely liquid.

add this to the soup.

then i cut the remaining vegetables into smaller-than-bite-sized chunks and added them to the soup, as well.

if you like smoother gazpacho, blend all the vegetables.

then i added a few shakes of worchestershire sauce, salt, pepper and red wine vinegar to taste (about two teaspoons, depending on how tangy you like your soup).

[turns out i forgot to take an "after" picture! i'm losing my touch!]

it traveled to work nicely in tupperware and didn’t even need to be heated up. i took some chips to have with it, but a nice crusty roll would have worked too.

“gourmet” tuna ‘ghetti

i’m pretty sure i’ve mentioned here before one of my all-time favorite childhood dishes – my mom’s “tuna ‘ghetti.” this was one of her go-to dishes, but no one ever complained because it’s so delicious.

traditionally, tuna ‘ghetti is a can of crushed tomatoes, a can of tuna fish, some garlic… parm… (there’s also a white tuna ‘ghetti that has tuna, carrots, capers and white raisins. omg yum.) over spaghetti.

this time, though, i used leftovers to make a super fancy gourmet version!

instead of canned tomatoes, i started with a mixture of canned tomatoes and fresh. (of course, you want to start by sauteing a lot of garlic in olive oil.)

you definitely don’t want to over cook this. the point is for the fresh tomatoes to stay fresh. but they should get warm and soft.

then, instead of tuna, i shredded leftover cooked salmon steak.

add to the pot and let it heat through.

i also added some capers. of course.

add your cooked pasta to the pot, too, so it can soak up all the flavors.

just to guild the lily, i served with crumbled feta on top.

now that’s some fancy tuna ‘ghetti!

tomato-bean dip

okay, so i know that “bean dip” doesn’t really whip most people into a frenzy, but this delicious version – inspired by a farmer’s market find – is really worth the (hardly any) effort.

start with one can of white or “navy” beans and between 1/3 and 1/2 cup of canned tomatoes – minced, chopped, whole – it doesn’t matter. great way to use up some leftovers.

come to think of it, you could probably use fresh tomatoes, instead…

add both to a food processor with some salt and pepper. i added some garlic powder, too. blend until totally smooth.

transfer to a bowl. the original dip had rosemary in it (which reminded me fondly of this dish) but i didn’t have any fresh, so i substituted finely shredded basil, which i stirred in with a splash of olive oil.

after tasting, i decided it wasn’t punchy enough, so i added a small clove of fresh garlic, which i grated on my microplane so no one would chomp down on a chunk of raw garlic.

serve with chips!

it’s a delicious alternative to salsa or hummus.