Chef Jeffrey S. Muldrow is the owner of Va Pensiero Restaurant, an award-winning fine-dining Italian restaurant in Evanston, as well as the owner and chef of Red Limo Cuisine, a gourmet shop and caterer in Northfield. Here he offers his refreshing chilled vegetable gazpacho for a hot summer day.
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients
1 small red pepper, seeds and stem removed
1 small yellow onion, peeled
1 large cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 green onions, roots removed
2 plum tomatoes, cores removed
½ cup chopped celery
1 large clove garlic, peeled
1 32-ounce can of cold tomato juice
1 cup mayonnaise
¼ tsp. paprika
1 tsp. lemon juice
Pinch cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste
Directions
Cut all vegetables into small chunks and run through a grinder, or pulse until coarse ground in a food processor or blender.
Add tomato juice to vegetables and whisk in.
Place mayonnaise in a large bowl and slowly whisk in vegetable mixture. (Also good without mayonnaise.)
Add spices and lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper and serve chilled.