Green gazpacho

This gazpacho is one of my favourites. I like to freeze it in expresso cups and get one out for a refreshing shot on a hot day. Gazpacho (cold soup) comes in all lots of different varieties even though the tomato version is one the best known.

This is a gazpacho by Amelia Freer, a well known fellow nutritional therapist. https://ameliafreer.com/about/. On her website she calls it Cucumber and Herb Gazpacho, but in our house it is just known as ‘green’ gazpacho. It’s packed with antioxidants and contains a good portion of walnuts. These are high in polyphenols and omega-3 fats which have been found to counter oxidative stress and inflammation. There are numerous studies correlating walnuts with brain health, gut health and heart health. Here is a good summary if you want to learn more about how wonderful walnuts are https://www.news-medical.net/health/The-Health-Benefits-of-Walnuts.aspx . This is heavy on the raw garlic, and whilst garlic has fabulous anti-oxidant and anti-biotic benefits, you might want to pull it back to your taste and raw garlic can be overpowering.

Serves 4 or 8 shots

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
100g baby spinach
3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
1 long green chilli, deseeded
100g walnuts
herbs – 25g basil, 20g mint, 20g parsley
3 small garlic cloves
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
90ml extra virgin olive oil
4 heaped tbsp. dairy or coconut yoghurt
300ml cold water
180g ice cubes
1/8 tsp pepper
1 tsp salt flakes

Method

This all goes into a blender and wizz until smooth. Pour into small coffee cups or expresso cups to serve. I added extra ice and a sprig of parsley to mine to make it look pretty for the photo.