I am super excited to share with you guys this amazing summery, chilled soup recipe, aka one of my most favorite ways, currently, to enjoy the flavors of the season. The whole idea for this Grilled Summer Veggie Gazpacho was inspired by one of my new favorite kitchen staples, vegan stocks and broths from Massel.

Earlier this year while at the Expo West Natural Products Convention, I had the pleasure of not only meeting the amazing Blender Girl, Tess Masters, who has quickly become one of my favorite people, but in meeting her I was also introduced to Massel, an amazing brand, new to America, hailing from her home country of Australia. Massel makes high-quality easy-to-use bouillons, stock cubes, seasoning granules and Concentrated Liquid Stock. All of their incredible all-natural products are gluten-free and vegan, so they can essentially be enjoyed by all, regardless of dietary restrictions. Massel never adds MSG and all of their ingredients are non-GMO. Besides all of that, the best part about their bouillons are how they taste just like homemade stocks.

Though I am not strictly vegan or vegetarian myself, I do try to limit the amount of meat I consume. If I cannot get high-quality meat from our local farmer or at the farmers market, I much prefer to eat vegetarian. When it comes to homemade stocks and soups, I generally tend to use leftover bones from our grass-fed meat and/or whatever veggies I have on hand, to make a stock every other week or so. But this just isn’t always a possibility, sometimes I need quick and easy, but I still want healthy and real.

If I am going to choose bouillon, I would much prefer it to be vegetarian, rather than filled with scary ingredients and unnatural flavors. Massel uses the highest quality all-natural, real-food ingredients. They always use premium vegetables and herbs, extra virgin olive oil and pure sea salt from the Great Southern Ocean, the cleanest ocean in the world. The Massel facilities are 100% gluten-free, to prevent any cross contamination and they are also kosher certified.

With the exception of salt (which is a mineral) Massel only uses vegetable based ingredients. All of their products are vegan and always have been. And they even pay attention to the littlest details, for example, if a product uses sugar they ensure it is not refined in bone ash. They source their palm oil exclusively from sustainable sources that have GreenPalm certification.

For Massel, it’s often about what they leave out of their products, as much as what they put in them. They never use MSG, or vast quantities of salt and they don’t use any artificial flavors or preservatives.

Massel products are free from common food allergens like gluten, lactose, artificial additives and preservatives. Massel products are:

• Gluten Free
• Wheat Free
• All Natural
• Vegan
• No Animal Content
• Lactose Free
• Cholesterol Free
• Transfat Free
• Preservative Free
• No added MSG
• Suitable for people with Celiac Disease
• Free from Common Allergens
• Kosher

For more information about Massel’s quality ingredients you can also read their FAQ page.

I constantly find myself being inspired to create dishes with Massel’s broths, from the simple bowl of broth with kelp noodles to a full blown recipe like the one I am sharing today. Equally as often though, I find myself enjoy it on it’s own in a mug as a comforting cup of consommé. The perfect meal when I want something warm, yet simple and fast.

When it came time to create this recipe, I was inspired not just by Massel’s all-natural, flavorful broths, but also by the amazing goodness the season has to offer right now. There is just so much beautiful produce available right now, begging to have amazing things creating with it.

So rather than choosing just one amazing seasonal item, I was moved to choose a bunch and I created this delicious grilled and chilled summer soup, inspired by what I have been getting from my garden, in my CSA box and at the farmers markets. The best part about this recipe is it literally lives up to the idea of “CHILL”, in more ways than one. Obviously we’ve established that it’s a cold soup, but with how easy the prep is and in using Massel’s delicious vegetable broth, there really is such a little amount of work. It doesn’t get much more chill than that!

This Grilled Summer Veggie Gazpacho is super versatile and can really be customized with whatever summer produce and herbs you have on hand, try adding yellow squash or eggplant, maybe carrots or asparagus. Add lime, cilantro and chipotle for a Mexican-inspired soup. Instead of grilled corn on top, opt for fresh raw cucumbers. Get creative and make this summery soup your own. Also, I made my gazpacho on thick side so I used the leftovers as a salsa by adding fresh lime juice, some chile powder and fresh cilantro.

However you make it, I promise if you opt for Massel‘s delicious vegetable broth, you’ll end up with the most flavorful and easy, chilled summer soup.

[print_this]Grilled Summer Veggie Gazpacho {gluten-free and vegan}
serves 4-8, depending on serving size

• 3 lbs heirloom tomatoes, halved
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled but left whole
• 2 large peppers (I used two spicy hatch chile peppers, red bell peppers or poblanos work great, too)
• 1 medium zucchini, sliced thinly long way
• 1 onion, sliced into 1/4 inch thick slices
• 2 ears of organic (non-gmo) corn, husked
• organic extra virgin olive oil
• sea salt and black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice or apple cider vinegar
• 1 cup Massel vegetable broth*
• 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
• fresh parsley
• fresh basil
• 2 scallions, sliced thinly

Preheat your grill to a medium-high heat.

Brush all of the veggies with olive oil. Add the corn to the grill first, this will take the longest. Then add the whole peppers, sliced zucchini, and onions. I cook the tomatoes and garlic together in a grill basket.

Once the various veggies are tender and have some good char marks, remove to a platter to cool. Pick off some of the large charred bits, but leave some.

When you take the peppers off the grill, place on a plate and place a lid on top, to steam them. Then peel. Cut open and remove the stem and the seeds.

Slice the kernels of corn off of the cob. Toss the corn, with 1 diced grilled and peeled pepper, roughly chopped fresh parsley, basil and the thinly sliced green onion and the fresh lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Set aside.

To the pitcher of your high-speed blender or food processor, add the grilled tomatoes, the other peeled pepper, garlic, zucchini and onion slices, lemon or lime juice plus 1 cup of Massel veggie broth. Add any fresh herbs of your choice, I added a small handful of fresh parsley and some fresh basil. Give it a couple of quick pulses or short blends, you want to puree the soup slightly, I personally like to leave a little chunkiness. Add more liquid if you want it thinner (water or more Massel broth).

Taste and adjust the seasonings; the gazpacho should be highly seasoned and just a tad spicy. Transfer to a glass pitcher, cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or preferably overnight.  Garnish with the corn mixture just before serving.

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NOTES:

If you don’t wish to grill the vegetables, you can roast them

You can also serve this soup hot or leave it on the chunky side and serve it as a salsa, just add a little fresh lime juice and some cilantro

If you want the soup thinner add more broth. You can also process to a smoother consistency (I happen to like mine with a little texture)

Have fun with your vegetable and herb selection, go with what you have on hand and make it your own recipe

Other Recipes Perfect for Massel’s Stocks and Broths:

In addition to soups, beans and grains cooked in Massel are just loaded with incredible flavors. I also really enjoy using it in dressings, soups, marinades, dips, gravies, sauces and more.

Here are a few other Tasty Yummies recipes I have used Massel in and have had great results with:

Chipotle Black Bean and Quinoa Crock Pot Stew
Tortilla Soup
Thai Chicken Soup
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry
Spinach Lentil and Sweet Potato Slow Cooker Soup
30-Minute Sweet Potato and Kale Coconut Curry

Here are just a few recipes from the Massel site I cannot wait to try:
Massel Popcorn
Bloody Mary
Mexican Festival Corn on the Cob

PLUS, check out the whole list of gluten-free recipes on the Massel website.