Mama's Summer Gazpacho

By arielleclementine • April 20, 2010 • 11 Comments

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Mama's Summer Gazpacho — 1 of 3 Photo by arielleclementine

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Author Notes: This is the first recipe I copied into my very first recipe book. Words cannot describe my love for my mom's gazpacho. I don't know when this love took hold (as a young child I hated all vegetables and insisted on being served only buttered noodles mixed with cottage cheese (side note: you may grimace at the sound of it, but i still have a soft spot for that dish)), but at some point I fell for this chilled tomato soup. And I adore making it, too- chopping all the lovely vegetables into a fine dice- it's therapeutic. Purists may question this recipe's lack of bread, or the use of tomato juice, but I firmly believe it is the world's best gazpacho. Make it when you have a bounty of large and lovely summer heirloom tomatoes, and I bet you'll agree. Thanks mom! I love you! - arielleclementine

Serves 4, or one arielle

1 garlic clove, smashed
6 large ripe heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced small
2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and diced small
1/2 cup green bell pepper, diced small
1/2 cup red onion, diced small
2 cups organic tomato juice
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice, meyer if available
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Rub the inside of a large serving bowl with the smashed garlic clove.
Put each of the remaining ingredients in the bowl and stir to combine.
Transfer half of the gazpacho mixture to a food processor and process until smooth.
Pour the processed mixture back into the serving bowl and stir to combine with the unprocessed vegetables. You're done!
In my opinion, this gazpacho tastes best at room temperature, so if you must refrigerate it before serving take it out about 30 minutes before you intend to dig in. Enjoy with crusty bread :)