Father's Day

Mama's Summer Gazpacho

April 20, 2010
3.7
3 Ratings
  • Prep time 40 minutes
  • Serves 4, or one Arielle
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

Test Kitchen Notes

Great. Simple and easy to make. I wasn't sure if you were supposed to use the garlic clove and I left it out, but it would be fine to have it in there. It's nice to have the little crunchy bits of veggies in the soup. —Stephanie Bourgeois

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Ingredients
  • 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
  • 1 piece kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Directions
  1. Rub the inside of a large serving bowl with the smashed garlic clove.
  2. Put each of the remaining ingredients in the bowl and stir to combine.
  3. Transfer half of the gazpacho mixture to a food processor and process until smooth.
  4. Pour the processed mixture back into the serving bowl and stir to combine with the unprocessed vegetables. You're done!
  5. 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 :)

See what other Food52ers are saying.

I have always loved food. My favorite books as a kid always featured food (eg. The Berenstain Bears Get the Gimmies- so much candy!) and I loved cooking shows like Yan Can Cook and The Frugal Gourmet. I started cooking the Thanksgiving dinner for my family when I was 13 years old. I have food52 to thank for inspiring me to come up with my own recipes, as well as for introducing me to a community of fantastic cooks and their amazing recipes. I try my best to cook locally and seasonally, and I tend to prefer straightforward, simple recipes where the ingredients get to shine. I live in wonderful Austin, Texas with my husband, Andy (a video game programmer) and my son, Henry (an 8-month-old who loves to eat).

12 Reviews

Sophie D. August 29, 2015
Sublime! I add two drops of Tabasco sauce and a touch of Worcesterrshire sauce. It revealed the flavor and I like it like that! Applause for your Mama.
mward September 1, 2012
Just tried this for the first time, as I have an abundance of tomatoes from my CSA, and it's easy and really, really good. Thx!
BrotherCam April 24, 2010
SISTERS!
arielleclementine April 24, 2010
THE BROTHER! YAHOO!
mrslarkin April 25, 2010
can the brother cook as good as the sisters? If so, we're in for it. ;)
arielleclementine April 25, 2010
thanks, mrslarkin! sweet friend :) cam is a fantastic cook- a professional one, in fact!
Helenthenanny April 21, 2010
Yahoo sister! I love this gazpacho! And you and mom! So hooray!
arielleclementine April 21, 2010
hooray! hooray for moms and sisters and gazpachos!
aargersi April 21, 2010
YUM gazpacho - I love it too and so does my mom! You look JUST like your mom - great picture - pretty dress, too!!
arielleclementine April 21, 2010
thank you, aargersi! you look just like your lovely mom, too!
Fabulous F. April 20, 2010
I love gazpacho - I will have to try this one when the season is right. By the way, my mom used to make me noodles and cottage cheese, too!
arielleclementine April 20, 2010
oh man! that's so funny! most people i mention that dish to think it sounds horrifying, but i quite enjoy it. i hope you like the gazpacho :)