3 in Gazpacho. Few savory dishes are as refreshing as a nice cold gazpacho. It’s like a blended salad. I was craving both grilled shrimp and gazpacho yesterday. My craving was so strong that I shopped for all of the ingredients after work, peeled and deveined the shrimp, waited for it to marinate (well maybe not for as long as I should have) and grilled outside in 110º. Hello Summer.

While the shrimp were marinating I whirred up the gazpacho in my Vitamix. I am not a fan of totally pureed gazpacho, so I pulsed it until the bits were not chunky but would still have some crunch, which to me is the best part of this perfect summer soup.

I have a confession. Only some of the tomatoes were from my garden. The only large tomatoes I grew this year are green and purple when ripe and I thought the color would be a little muddy to be palatable, like mixing the red and green paint in kindergarten to make brown. I mean we eat with our eyes too, am I right? I used store-bought plum tomatoes as well as the Cherry and Sun Golds from my garden. Plum tomatoes are the perfect firmness for chopping or blending.

My Gazpacho Recipe

5-6 large plum tomatoes
15-20 cherry tomatoes (yellow + red)
1 English cucumber
1/2 bunch cilantro
1/2 red onion
1 clove garlic
16-24 ounces Tomato juice
Hot sauce
2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2-3 tablespoons​ of red wine vinegar 
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
Kosher salt
Fresh ground pepper

Peel the cucumber, but leave a few stripes of skin to add a little more crunch and color. Toss a clove of garlic in the blender. Chop the tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and cilantro coarsely, then toss them in the blender.

Pulse until all ingredients are small bits and not chunky.

Add the tomato juice, olive oil, vinegar, hot sauce, celery salt to the blender but just stir with a spoon. Salt and pepper to taste.

Chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour or more. Stir and pour. Serves 4.

I topped mine with more chopped cilantro, avocado, and a couple grilled shrimp. Also a nice squeeze of lemon to brighten it up even more. I brought leftover gazpacho for lunch today and plan to top with avocado and mango.