Tomato Gazpacho

Tomato Gazpacho is a chilled soup that originated in Andalusia, Spain. It is typically made with fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and bread, blended together and served cold. The soup is a refreshing and healthy dish that is perfect for hot summer days. Here’s a recipe for making tomato gazpacho:

Ingredients:

2 lbs ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 small red onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
3 cups of tomato juice
1/4 cup of sherry vinegar
1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Croutons or diced bread for garnish (optional)

Instructions:

In a large bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, and garlic.
In a blender or food processor, puree the vegetable mixture in batches until smooth.
Stir in the tomato juice, sherry vinegar, and olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Chill the soup in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
When ready to serve, ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with croutons or diced bread, if desired.

You can customize your gazpacho to your liking by adding some diced avocado, chopped herbs or some diced fruits like melon or peach. If you want a smoother texture, you can strain the soup through a fine-mesh sieve. A blended mix of tomatoes, garlic, basil, salt, pepper and olive oil is a perfect summer cold soup which doubles down as a pasta tomato sauce if preheated in microwave for 5-7 minutes.