Summer Time Gazpacho

Gazpacho is the quintessential summer soup because all of the fresh ingredients are deliciously in season this time of year. Wonderful on warm evenings, when you don’t want to turn on the oven or stove to make dinner….Just prep your ingredients on a cutting board and let your blender do the rest of the work!

I love to make a little salad for the top of the gazpacho with fresh and sweet cherry tomatoes, a little diced red onion, parsley, olive oil and vinegar adds just the right amount of “extra love” to this recipe.

For gazpacho:

3 lbs VERY ripe heirloom tomatoes – use a variety of colors!
1 red bell pepper
1/2 of a green bell pepper
1/4 of a red onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 cup of sliced cucumber
2 tablespoons of red wine or sherry vinegar
1/2 cup of high quality olive oil
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
few grinds of black pepper

For salad garnish:

Make this salad right before eating to preserve the texture and flavor of the ingredients.

1 cup sliced cherry tomatoes
1 tablespoons diced red onion
1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red wine vinegar
big pinch of sea salt
grind of black pepper

Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until totally smooth and emulsified – at least 1 minute on high if not longer.

After blended, taste soup and add a little more salt or vinegar if desired. Move to the refrigerator to chill before serving for an hour or two. The flavors only get better as it sits!

Make the salad topping by mixing all ingredients together in a small bowl. Serve the soup in a bowl or cup, topped with a big scoop of tomato salad and an extra grind of black pepper.