Gazpacho

Brendan Murphy on June 22, 2013

This is a great way to enjoy the bounty of summer. You can be very flexible with this recipe using radishes, bell pepper, etc. Gazpacho gets better with time, so it’s best to let it sit for a day.

Ingredients

  • 3 cups chopped tomatoes – you can add up to five cups
  • 1 cup chopped red onions or yellow onion
  • 1 cup chopped green, red and/or yellow bell pepper
  • 1 cup chopped English cucumber, seeded or use pickling cucumbers from the farmers market and do not seed them
  • 1 cup carrots, peeled, quartered and chopped
  • 1 cup chopped celery
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Kosher salt
  • A few grinds of fresh black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  • 3 cups tomato juice, low sodium- just enough to cover the tomatoes and veggies
  • A few sprigs of fresh thyme and some chopped parsley
  • A splash of extra virgin olive oil, sherry vinegar and freshly chopped herbs- fresh basil and chives when serving…while this is optional, the sherry vinegar makes this soup extra special!

Directions

  1. Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl or other container and stir until combined. Cover and let sit in the refrigerator overnight so the flavors meld.
  2. The next day, remove the thyme stems and leave the thyme and puree all the ingredients in a blender until the gazpacho is smooth, or almost smooth—keep just a little texture in it.

Refrigerate the gazpacho until ready to serve. Serve with a little extra virgin olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar and some fresh herbs for a perfect combination of flavors.

You can also top the gazpacho with boiled shrimp, diced avocado, lump crab meat, chopped tomatoes, a dollop of plain yogurt or sour cream and even croutons for additional texture and color.