Ahhhh Gazpacho. So fresh. So chill. So fun to say. And so easy to make! Hello it's a raw soup you put in the blenda! Tastes like a garden!
Let's just say that before I made this particular Gazpacho, I think I'd only had this famed soup maybe once or twice before. To be honest, I didn't like it. Both times, if it was in fact twice, were unmemorable and a little bland. I am not a tomato fan. I am so strange when it comes to tomatoes. I don't like cooked tomatoes unless it's in a sauce and cold tomatoes are iffy with me. Most of the time if they come from a restaurant I won't eat them. I think that hesitance with tomatoes and not knowing how they were prepared stems from growing up. There was one summer in particular I remember where everyone was getting salmonella. Whether they were buying tomatoes from a grocery store or outbreaks in restaurants. For some reason the restaurant outbreaks were what got to me and for years after it was ingrained in my mind to always remove the tomatoes from salads. Except for caprese salad. That salad is DELICIOUS. Solution? Grow your own! For this recipe, I did not use the tomatoes that I grew since they are still in the baby stage so I bought local organic tomatoes from the store.
Moving away from our bacteria conversation, I apologize for even bringing it up, I made this recipe with my S.O. in mind. He loves Gazpacho! He always raves about this one that he had ages ago and it just stuck with him ever since. All Gazpachos from then on were doomed to be compared to that ONE. But I never knew what the hell he was talking about since all the Gazpachos I've had were below par and started thinking his pedestal soup really was a figment of imagination from a nostalgic youth experience. Nevertheless, I decided to give Gazpacho a go. Can I say Gazpacho even more than I already am? Once I made it, I knew this was what it was supposed to taste like. It was so flavorful and bursting at the seams with fresh, crisp vegetables and aromatic herbs. I seriously felt like I was biting into my garden (in the best way, excluding dirt and bugs). This soup truly is the taste of summer. And what's more? Baby LOVED it. Would you believe she leaned her head back so I could POUR, not spoon, the soup in. This is a great soup to power pack some vegetables my friends!
Let's get to it!
Adapted from French Foodie Baby
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup cold water
2 lbs tomatoes (heirloom or any other large variety)
1 clove garlic
1/4 cucumber
1/4 green bell pepper
Fresh herbs of choice (I used basil, thyme, and sage and a lot of it!)
1/4 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
Instructions:
1. Remove the cores from the tomatoes and blend in a food processor or blender.
2. Press the blended mixture through a sieve and discard the seeds and skin. This is the most annoying part but afterwards it's completely smooth sailing.
3. Put the squeezed tomato juice back into the blender with the garlic, cucumber, pepper, herbs, cumin and salt.
4. With the blender running, add the olive oil in a slow and steady stream. Then add the vinegar and the cold water.
5. Serve the soup chilled or at room temperature. Enjoy!
