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Gazpacho is a Spanish based uncooked (raw), cold, and uber fresh tomato based soup. It's got summer's bounty of ingredients like fresh tomatoes, crunchy cucumbers, crisp red bell peppers, red onions, a hint of garlic, fresh lime juice, and olive oil. A little bit of tomato juice intensifies its richness and thickness.

Summer tomatoes are poppin' right now and so delicious! I can't think of anything better to eat on a hot day then fresh cold gazpacho soup.

Gazpacho is a labor of love. I say this because it takes time to work with gazpacho's beautiful vegetable ingredients. It tastes so good, so the return on the investment for hard work to make it is that your bowl will be empty rather quickly, way too soon to be precise.

Gazpacho Ingredients

The main ingredients for gazpacho are: fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, onion, garlic, lime juice, olive oil, basil, vinegar, and red pepper.

Having said that, there are so may summer vegetables that can be added based on preference.

Use any tomato for this fresh gazpacho recipe, but Romas are "meaty" with the fewest seeds. The seeds are removed to create a smooth textured gazpacho.

Add a couple jalapeno slices as a garnish or a couple shakes of tabasco sauce for spice.

Why is Gazpacho Soup Served Cold?

Fresh Gazpacho soup generally needs time for the ingredients to integrate together and intensify. Make it ahead of time - it tastes best after it's been chilled at least a couple hours and tastes even better the next day.

Creamy Vs. Chunky Cold Gazpacho

Gazpacho soup can be made either smooth or creamy. I like a little bit of both so generally blend about 1 cup of the ingredients to create a little smoothness and a little chunkiness. Pour it in a bowl and add a spoon.

Blending part or all of the soup gives gazpacho a more orange creamy color tone.

Blending the soup completely makes for more of a drink like consistency. Add a couple ice cubes, pour it in a glass, and enjoy a refreshing summer drink.

Peeling Tomatoes for Gazpacho

Although I have seen some recipes that don't peel the tomatoes, I will argue that peeling them makes for a better textured and smoother gazpacho soup.

Making an "X" on the end of the tomato before blanching them makes it easier to peel them after blanching. Don't know which side is the tomato end (it's the opposite of where the stem is). Doesn't really matter, make an x on both sides if you don't understand what I'm putting down.

Blanch the tomatoes (cook in a simmering pot for a couple minutes). Strain and immediately place the tomatoes in an ice bath. An ice bath for the cooked tomatoes stop them from cooking and makes them cooler and easier to handle for peeling.

Don't want to turn the stovetop on to blanch the tomatoes to peel? Cool, just peel the tomatoes with a vegetable peeler. It will take a little longer and require more patience but it's nice to not have to turn the stovetop on too.

Final Tips On Making Gazpacho

Throw all of the garlic in the blender instead of mincing it and mixing it into the soup. This ensures a smooth garlic taste without biting into a big chunk of garlic.

Play with the ingredients in this gazpacho soup recipe. If you have more than a cup of cucumber, just throw it all in and maybe add a little more tomato juice if needed.

I've made this Gazpacho soup a multitude of ways, sometimes without garlic, sometimes with parsley instead of basil and sometimes with lemon instead of lime. It's always good.

Feeling like you need a little more carbs in your meal? Add a couple croutons as a garnish or some fresh bread for dippin'. Serve this soup with crackers and pimento cheese or Parmesan Crisps.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

-6 roma tomatoes (~ 1 ½ lbs), peeled, seeded, & chopped
-1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded, & diced
-½ cup red pepper, seeded & diced
-⅓ cup red onion, diced
-1 lime, juiced
-2 tsp balsamic vinegar
-¼ cup olive oil
-~¾ cup tomato juice
-¾ tsp salt
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-¼ cup basil, sliced as garnish

Instructions:

-Mark an "X" in the bottom of your tomatoes. Bring a medium pot of water to a boil and add tomatoes. Cook ~ 20 seconds and transfer to an ice bath (ice and water) for ~ 2 minutes.

-Peel, seed (over a fine mesh strainer), and dice tomatoes. Reserve tomato juices in a large bowl and add tomatoes to the juices. Toss the seeds out.

-Add cucumbers, red peppers, red onion, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, tomato juice, and salt to tomatoes and stir.

-Add garlic and 1 cup of mixture to a blender and blend it up!

-Transfer back to the bowl with the raw chunky ingredients and stir.

-Gazpacho tastes best when chilled for a couple hours but can be eaten right away.

-Add salt to taste and garnish with basil.

Happy Eating!

Beckie

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