If you’re looking for a fresh, healthy, and delicious summer dinner, look no further.  This Gazpacho takes less than an hour to prepare and hits the spot on a hot summer day. I adapted this recipe from Food & Wine, but made a few changes including substituting pancetta for shrimp for a little more flavor and kick.

If you can find English cucumbers at the grocery store, I’d recommend using two of those over three regular cucumbers. Regular cucumbers require seeding, adding an extra step. Also, if you have pumpkin seed oil to drizzle on top, it adds great color to the dish – but if you don’t have any, not to worry – EVOO works as well.

• 1 small loaf of white bread cut into 1-inch cubes (approx 6 cups)
• 2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 English (seedless) cucumbers – peeled, and chopped OR 3 regular cucumbers – peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded & chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of sliced almonds
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 cups seedless green grapes, 1 cup reserved and sliced in half
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz cubed pancetta
• Pumpkin seed oil for drizzling OR EVOO (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, combine 3 cups of the bread cubes with the vinegar. Add the water; set aside about 5 minutes to soften.

Combine the cucumbers, onion, almonds, 1 clove of garlic, and 1 cup of the grapes in a large stainless steel bowl. Add the soaked bread, the 1/2 cup olive oil, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. With an immersion blender (or in a regular blender) puree until smooth. Chill soup in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes, or up to a few hours.

While the soup is chilling, in a large nonstick frying pan, cook the pancetta and remaining garlic clove over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring infrequently.  Remove from heat and allow to cool.

Transfer the remaining 3 cups of bread cubes to a baking sheet and heat in preheated oven for 5 minutes, or until bread is crunchy.

Transfer the chilled soup into bowls, and add the croutons, sliced grapes, pancetta, and drizzle with pumpkin or olive oil.  Serve with a sliced baguette.

 Make-ahead tip:

This soup can be made hours in advance and left in the fridge to chill. In fact, it’s better when left to chill for a few hours. Reserve the cooked pancetta, croutons, sliced grapes and oil for drizzling until ready to serve.

Other tips:

Swap out the pancetta for some lightly toasted almond slivers for a healthier, vegetarian version of this dish.