Gazpacho with Avocado Relish

This weekend was so hot  that it was nice to enjoy this refreshing cool summer soup.  I was going to use this recipe from the August issue of Cooking Light but I really didn't want to make the gazpacho with shrimp.  After browsing through some other recipes I found this recipe for Gazpacho with Shrimp and Avocado Relish. I decided to go with this one because the avocado relish looked so good.   So, I used this recipe but modified by leaving out the shrimp and I added some zucchini instead. This is a healthy and delicious weeknight meal and we even had leftovers for lunch yesterday.

Do you have a favorite meal for a hot summer day?

{ingredients for the soup}

{the avocado relish}

{the final product served with some garlic bread}

Ingredients
Soup:
1 pound peeled and deveined large shrimp          ( I used zucchini and omitted the shrimp)
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
3 tablespoons chopped red onion
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce                                             (any hot sauce is ok)
1 pound plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1 medium cucumber, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove ( I used 2)
1 (11.5-ounce) can low-sodium vegetable juice        (you may need to add more than this)
Relish:
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon finely chopped red onion
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 ripe peeled avocado, diced
Preparation
1. To prepare soup, cook shrimp in boiling water 2 minutes or until done. Drain and rinse under cold water; coarsely chop shrimp.
2. Combine 3/4 cup bell pepper and next 9 ingredients (through vegetable juice) in a blender; process until smooth. Stir in shrimp. (I like gazpacho a bit chunky so I didn't blend it very long)
3. To prepare relish, combine 1/4 cup bell pepper and remaining ingredients. Top soup with relish.

From Cooking Light, AUGUST 2009

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Gazpacho with Avocado Relish