Here’s my favorite garden fresh gazpacho recipe for a cool summer treat. You can make this recipe for one, or quadruple it and make it for a girls lunch. This garden fresh gazpacho goes great with some bubbly or viognier.
This is such an easy and forgiving recipe – but it packs all of the flavor you want in a gazpacho. Forgiving? Couldn’t be easier. The thing I love about gazpacho is that you can use exactly what you love and what you have on hand along with your tomatoes. No peppers? no problem. This recipe just calls for a 3:1 balance between tomatoes and any other vegetables you may have. If you are making this for one person, 3 cups of tomato and one cup of other vegetables works for a generous bowl of soup.
About this Gazpacho Recipe
This recipe is good for any variety of tomato; but if you are using all tasty heirlooms – you will have an amazing and flavorful soup! But be aware that you may have a little extra liquid. You can just drain some of the juice before adding the tomato to the blender. Alternatively, I sometimes like to add some cubed crusty bread right into the mix, which will soak up that liquid, and add a great flavor and texture to boot.
If you are using meatier tomatoes, you probably will not need to add any country crusty bread, but you still can! It’s a great addition!
If you are using cucumber, I recommend peeling the skin first. While you don’t need to do this, the skin can be tough and harder for the food processor to consistently break down. While I like some chunk to my gazpacho, I don’t love the cucumber skin. But to be fair, I usually peel my cucumber for most recipes.
My last tip – to get the right level of chunkiness, I usually split the vegetables into two batches in the food processor. The first batch is all tomatoes, and this batch I puree to a very smooth consistency. The second batch includes some tomatoes along with the peppers, cucumbers and onions. That second batch I will leave a little bit chunkier. By preparing two batches, you have a good blend of silky base and interspersed chunk, without it being too much of either one.
Ingredients
- Garden fresh tomatoes.
- a handful of other vegetables; onions, peppers, cucumbers, or whatever you have handy. For this recipe, use a 3:1 ratio. Use three parts tomato and one part consisting of the other vegetables. If making this soup for one, 3 cups tomato and 1 cup other veggies will make a generous bowl. You can simply double and quadruple for additional servings.
- Splash of extra virgin olive oil
- Splash of balsamic vinegar
- Country style bread
- Croutons
Instructions for Garden Fresh Gazpacho
- Puree the vegetables in a blender or food processor to your desired chunk level. I like to do it in two batches – one batch smoothly pureed and one with some chunkiness, and then mix those together in the bowl for the perfect mix.
- If you are using tomatoes with a lot of water, you may wish to thicken the soup with some of the country bread if desired; this is optional, but adds a lovely flavor and texture.
- Add the extra virgin olive oil and balsamic to taste. Chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
- Serve cold in a beautiful bowl with a few croutons and crumbled cotija cheese for garnish.
