Gazpacho

My husband and I have a favorite lunch place in St. John, USVI that we have been to many times.  Its a little open air rustic building with a few picnic tables and a chalk board menu that's carried around from table to table. The picnic tables look out over an island cove filled with sailboats, aqua blue water and lots of palm trees.  Its one of the most relaxing places that I know.   It's in Coral Bay and is called Shipwreck Landing. We always order the gazpacho as an appetizer and we are never disappointed. Last week when we had so many vegetables ready to be eaten I said I would try to make some and see how it compared.  This was just as delicious as I remember but somehow we couldn't recreate the setting in our backyard in New Jersey.
This involves a lot of chopping and it should set overnight to get the flavors to all mesh together but it's perfect for a light lunch or appetizer.  I'm sure I'm not the only one with leftover tomatoes and peppers. This recipe was found on my recipes.

Ingredients:
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup basil, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 green bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
6 large tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3 tbsp lime juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar (more if desired)
2 cups V-8 juice, spicy
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add seeded and chopped cucumber, peppers and tomatoes to a large bowl.

Add chopped onion, garlic, lime juice, vinegar, vegetable juice and salt and pepper.  Transfer half of the mixture to a food processor or blender and process until smooth and return to the bowl.  Stir well.  Stir in basil and chill for at least two hours but overnight will le t the flavors blend more.

Enjoy!!



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