Chicago Botanic Garden

Events: Garden chef series - recipes

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.

Chilled Vegetable Gazpacho
Serves 8
  • 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.