This fresh and easy to prepare "gazpacho" is delicious and refreshing on hot days. I love serving it in small glasses, garnished with mint leaves, as a creamy appetizer while preparing the rest of the recipes for a dinner. It does not require cooking and the texture can be varied to your desire, from creamy — to serve as a french style appetizer "verrine" like I do — to a more diluted smoothie texture to drink on the go as a quick lunch on days that you have to speed up your lunch time a little to cope with a busy day.
Ingredients:
1 small Haas avocado
2 cucumbers, peeled and seeds removed
1/4 of a small onion (adjust portion to your taste)
2 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of lemon (or lime) juice
1 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
¼ teaspoon sea salt
a small pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
a little bit of water (to be adjusted according to desired texture)
You can also add 1/4 cup of chopped cilantro, parsley or fresh mint leaves as desired for enhanced flavor and the health properties of these herbs.
Preparation:
Put the avocado, the cucumber, the onion, the olive oil, lemon juice and vinegar in a mixer. Puree on high speed until smooth adding the water as needed to obtain the desired consistency. Blend in salt and cayenne pepper.
Garnish with a pinch of smoked paprika, or green sprouts, or your choice of coriander, mint and parsley leaves or add extra cucumber or avocado small dices if desired.
About the author: Carol Jamault is a Certified Health and Life Coach (CHC), Licensed Massage Therapist (LMT), and Yoga Instructor (RYT-200) with extensive training in Ayurveda and Herbalism. She focuses on supporting her clients with stress management tools and self-care routines through an integrative approach to wellness. She guides those in a quest for personal growth and better health, by providing curated information and teaching a therapeutic lifestyle that naturally allows to restore balance, improving wellness and fostering longevity. Carol has been studying alternative healing, ethnobotany, circadian medicine, Ayurveda and herbalism since 2001. She is the founder of Hridayam Bodywork & Apothecary and partners with corporations and wellness studios to provide therapeutic bodywork, private coaching, workshops, and lectures.