Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a refreshing, chilled summer soup made with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and onions. It’s bright, flavorful, and full of crunch, making it the perfect dish for hot summer days.

Soup is one of those dishes that I could eat all year long, but there’s something extra special about a cold soup during the hot summer months. Gazpacho is my go-to when the temperatures rise and I’m looking for something cool, refreshing, and full of vibrant flavors. This classic Spanish cold soup is everything you want in summer food—bright, fresh, and packed with texture. It’s like a salad in a bowl, but even better!

The best part about gazpacho is how simple and satisfying it is. No cooking required—just fresh, ripe vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, and onions, all blended together into a smooth, chilled soup with just the right amount of zing. The crunchiness of the veggies adds such a refreshing contrast to the smooth, flavorful broth, making every spoonful a perfect bite. It’s so light, but at the same time, it’s incredibly satisfying. If you’ve never tried gazpacho before, it’s one of those dishes that you’ll fall in love with instantly.

Not only is gazpacho a great way to cool off on a hot day, but it’s also a wonderful way to use up summer produce when everything is in season. Tomatoes are at their peak, cucumbers are crisp and refreshing, and the herbs just burst with flavor. This recipe is a celebration of all those fresh, bright ingredients, and it’s perfect for a light lunch, a refreshing appetizer, or even as a side dish at your next barbecue or gathering.

Ingredients:

5 medium tomatoes, peeled and seeded, half coarsely chopped and half minced

1/2 of an English cucumber, seeded, half coarsely chopped and half minced

1 small bell pepper, seeded half coarsely chopped and half minced

1 small celery stalk, half coarsely chopped and half minced

1 slice hearty bread

1 small jalapeño, minced

1 small shallot, minced

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 cups tomato juice

salt, pepper

1/4 cup olive oil, plus more to garnish

1/2 Tablespoon sherry vinegar, plus more to garnish

fresh herbs, to garnish (parsley, green onions, basil, etc.)

How To Make Gazpacho

Cut an X on the top and bottom of the tomatoes. Submerge the tomatoes in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Plunge the tomatoes into an ice bath and then peel the skin off the tomatoes. Remove the seeds from the tomatoes. Coarsely chop half of the tomatoes and mince the second hand of the tomatoes.

Coarsely chop half of the cucumber (which would be 1/4 of the whole English cucumber, scraping out the seeds from the cucumber too), bell pepper and celery stalk. Mince the second half of the cucumber, bell pepper and celery stalk. Mince the jalapeño and shallot and crush the garlic clove.

If you like spicy food, you might want to add more hot peppers and different varieties of hot peppers to this soup. It depends on your taste buds. Also, you can add the seeds to the soup to add more spiciness to it. Sergi and I don’t like our food too spicy, so I leave it on the mild side. Place the coarsely chopped vegetables and the slice of bread, torn into pieces into a food processor and pulse until it’s completely pureed. The bread is completely optional. Your soup will be smoother without the bread. The bread gives the soup creaminess.

Add the olive oil and the sherry vinegar and pulse to combine again. Pour the mixture into a large bowl. Add the minced vegetables, the crushed garlic clove, tomato juice and season to taste with salt and pepper and more olive oil and sherry vinegar, if needed.

Instead of mincing all the vegetables, you can pulse them in the food processor until they are coarsely chopped and puree the second half. This method is much faster. I prefer to mince the vegetables by hand, because I’m somewhat OCD about having everything chopped nicely and neatly and I actually really enjoy chopping. Since I have so much practice, it doesn’t take me long at all.

Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or overnight. Remove the crushed garlic clove before serving. Garnish with fresh herbs, more minced vegetables and olive oil and/or sherry vinegar.