Low-Calorie • Heart-Healthy • Vegetarian

Active 35 min

Total 1 hr 35 min

Grilled Tomato Gazpacho

Grill the vegetables for this refreshing soup earlier in the day or even the night before. (Photo.)

• 2 pounds ripe plum tomatoes
• 1 small red bell pepper
• 1 English cucumber, peeled and seeded, divided
• ½ cup torn fresh or day-old country bread (crusts removed)
• 1 small clove garlic
• 2-3 tablespoons red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
• ¼ teaspoon piment d’Espelette (see Tip) or hot Spanish paprika or pinch of cayenne pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon ground pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1. Preheat grill to medium-high.

2. Grill tomatoes and bell pepper, turning a few times, until they soften and the skins are blistered and charred in spots, about 8 minutes. Transfer the pepper to a plastic bag and let it steam until cool enough to handle. Peel off the skin; cut the pepper in half and discard the stem and seeds. Place one half in a blender. When the tomatoes are cool enough to handle, core and roughly chop. Add the tomatoes, skins and all, to the blender.

3. Add half the cucumber to the blender along with bread, garlic, vinegar to taste, parsley, piment d’Espelette (or paprika or cayenne), salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add oil and blend until well combined. Refrigerate until room temperature or chilled, at least 1 hour.

4. Before serving, finely dice the remaining cucumber and bell pepper. Stir half of each into the gazpacho and use the rest for garnish.

►► MAKE AHEAD: Prepare through Step 3 and refrigerate for up to 1 day. Stir to recombine and garnish just before serving.

Serves 6: 1 scant cup each

Calories 84 | Fat 5g (sat 1g) | Cholesterol 0mg | Carbs 9g | Total sugars 5g (added 0g) | Protein 2g | Fiber 2g | Sodium 219mg | Potassium 405mg.

Nutrition bonus: Vitamin C (61% daily value) | Vitamin A (32% dv).

Piment d’Espelette is a sweet, mildly spicy pepper from the French side of the Basque region, ground into powder.