More Fun with Tomatoes

I have been inundated with cherry tomatoes from my garden lately. So, the other day when I was in the mood for gazpacho, I got creative. How could I enjoy the flavor of gazpacho and use my cherry tomatoes? Adding to the challenge was the fact that I had no tomato juice in my pantry, a key ingredient in every gazpacho recipe I've ever seen. My solution? Gazpacho Chopped Salad. I diced up a bunch of tomatoes, peppers, onion and cucumber -- all gazpacho staples. Then, I mixed it all together with a dressing that included a little honey, lime and lemon juice, Tabasco and fresh basil.

Gazpacho Chopped Salad

salad:
10-15 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 orange pepper, diced
1/2 yellow pepper, diced
1/4 red onion, diced and soaked in ice water for 5 minutes
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

dressing:
1 clove minced garlic
2 tsp. honey
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
few dashes of Tabasco
juice of 1/4 lemon
juice of 1/2 lime
2 Tbs. white wine vinegar
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 Tbs. fresh basil, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Blend ingredients together for dressing. Adjust seasonings to taste. Mix together with salad ingredients. Chill for at least two hours before serving.

Note: some gazpacho recipes call for the addition of day old bread. If you have some on hand, it's a nice addition. Dice the bread and stir into salad before serving. Or, as shown in picture above, slice bread, spray with olive oil, lightly toast and serve next to salad.