Gazpacho Recipe (Smooth or Chunky Chilled Tomato Soup)

 This smooth or chunky gazpacho recipe–a chilled, no-cook tomato soup–is a light and fresh appetizer or starter for the hot summer months. 

It may be cooling off significantly where you are, but here in the Los Angeles area, it’s still hovering around 100ºF (almost 40ºC).

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I’m simply not turning on my oven or cooking long, hot meals over the cooktop. Instead, I decided to try a recipe for gazpacho, which my friend, Joyce, recently sent me.

What is Gazpacho?

A couple of weeks ago, Joyce and my friend, Gail, were both astonished when they found out I’d never tasted gazpacho. Gazpacho originates from southern Spain and Portugal, where they have similarly hot weather to our California summers. Sometimes, bread is added to the fresh vegetables and tomatoes to thicken it when the soup is blended (I learned this later, as you’ll see below).

Updated to add that I have made gazpacho countless times since I was served a beautiful gazpacho in Spain after writing this post! You can read about my visit to Montserrat, just outside of Barcelona, and the lunch which followed. -2017

It’s extremely simple, and so healthy, that it will definitely be on the rotation of summer meals while this weather continues.

Light and Tasty Pea Soup 

I slightly altered Joyce’s recipe because I had fresh, homegrown tomatoes on hand, and didn’t want to buy canned tomato juice, and I also added salt. 

This is not a recipe which needs to be followed strictly, but it is the basic Spanish version of the chilled soup.

Smooth or Chunky Gazpacho Recipe
(Chilled Tomato Soup)

slightly adapted from Joyce Hughes’ recipe              serves 4 to 6

FULL PRINTABLE RECIPE BELOW

Chop the tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and onion by hand or in a food processor.

Place the chopped veggies in a bowl, with the minced garlic, then add the tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and black pepper to taste.

Stir well, cover and refrigerate for about an hour to chill. Serve with any of the desired suggested toppings, or simply a slice or two of green pepper.

If you prefer a smooth version, simply purée all of the ingredients in a blender until smooth, then chill.

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Chunky Gazpacho (Chilled Tomato Soup)

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 10 minutes

A super refreshing cold soup for hot days of summer.

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Ingredients

• 1 quart of chilled tomato juice (I blended tomatoes and added some water)
• 2 medium or 1 large tomato
• 1 large cucumber, or 3 or 4 small Persian cucumbers
• 3/4 green pepper
• 1 white onion (I used a sweet Vidalia)
• 3 large cloves of fresh garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar (I love vinegar, so I added more)
• 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tsp Kosher salt
• Tabasco sauce to taste
• black pepper to taste
• Optional to serve: avocado, sour cream, garlic croutons or cooked shrimp-as desired

Instructions

1. Chop the tomato, cucumber, green pepper, and onion by hand or in a food processor.
2. Place the chopped veggies in a bowl, with the minced garlic, then add the vinegar, olive oil, salt, tabasco, and black pepper to taste.
3. Stir well, cover and refrigerate for about an hour to chill.
4. Serve with any of the desired suggested toppings, or simply a slice or two of green pepper.

Notes

Choose it chunky or smooth, gazpacho is delicious both ways.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 325Total Fat: 20gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 15gCholesterol: 47mgSodium: 1532mgCarbohydrates: 31gFiber: 8gSugar: 14gProtein: 11g

Nutrition information is only estimated.

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