Mediterranean Diet Friendly Basil-Pesto Cucumber Gazpacho Shooters
Cool, bright, and impossibly elegant, these chilled cucumber shooters are the kind of appetizer that stops a party in its tracks. English cucumbers get blended smooth with fresh lemon juice, a touch of shallot and garlic, apple cider vinegar, and a whisper of ground ginger, then strained until the liquid is silky and perfectly clear. The result is a gazpacho that tastes clean and refreshing without a drop of heaviness. A swirl of vibrant basil pesto — made with nothing but fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, and lemon — gets dragged across the surface of each shooter for a look that's genuinely stunning and takes about thirty seconds to pull off. Every ingredient here leans into the kind of whole-food, plant-forward cooking that makes this style of eating so satisfying: good olive oil, fresh herbs, real citrus, and vegetables doing all the heavy lifting. These are the perfect make-ahead bite since the gazpacho needs a chill in the fridge anyway, leaving you free to focus on everything else before guests arrive. Finish each glass with a thin cucumber round and a fresh basil leaf, and you've got something that looks like it came from a restaurant kitchen.
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Learn more →Ingredients
8 servings
For the gazpacho base
- 2 large english cucumbers (about 2 lb total), roughly chopped
- ¼ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 2 lemons)
- 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 small shallot, roughly chopped
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- ½ tsp fine sea salt, plus more to taste
- ¼ tsp ground ginger
For the AIP pesto swirl
- 2 cups packed fresh basil leaves
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- thin cucumber rounds, for serving (optional)
- fresh basil leaves, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the chopped cucumbers, lemon juice, 2 tbsp olive oil, shallot, garlic, apple cider vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt, and ground ginger in a blender. Blend on high until completely smooth, about 60 seconds.
- 2
Pour the blended gazpacho through a fine-mesh strainer set over a large bowl, pressing gently with a spatula until only dry pulp remains. Discard the pulp. Taste and adjust salt. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 30 minutes.
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