Fresh Tomato Gazpacho with Cucumber and Basil
By Emma Collins
Prep
20 min
Total
140 min
Servings
6
Level
Easy
This cold tomato gazpacho recipe can be incorporated into a summer meal plan with 20 minutes of preparation time and a blender. Olive oil, lemon juice, and fresh tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, and basil make a tasty soup.
Blanch the tomatoes to remove the skins. Cool the blanched tomatoes in ice water. Cut the tomatoes and all other ingredients, including cucumber, red pepper, shallot, and garlic, and mix them with olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper in a bowl. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes or longer to blend flavors before pureeing. Serve with additional basil in the dish.
Prepared soup ingredients should be blended after sitting. The soup can be fully blended at high speed. You should peel tomatoes to make the cleanest-textured soup. Let the soup chill in the refrigerator for two hours to develop more flavor. It takes two hours for the soup to go from blended vegetables to ready-to-serve summer soup.
Serve in bowls garnished with chopped basil. One article suggests serving this dish with no-knead focaccia bread as a main course or side or appetizer. This dish can be made in advance when desired. Mix before serving, since other ingredients in the dish may separate when refrigerated.
Why this recipe works
- Saves 20 minutes of cooking time for dinner because vegetables cook slightly before the blender handles the final texture.
- Uses only one blender and other bowls, with no other cooking on the stove, except peeling the tomato skins.
- Good use of in-season tomatoes: Fresh tomatoes provide color and flavor to the soup.
- Offers information about other tomatoes to use when purchasing tomatoes. Roma, heirloom, and Campari tomatoes were tested and found suitable substitutes for vine tomatoes in recipes.
- Can be prepared ahead of time; gazpacho is a cold dish that needs only to be stirred before serving.
- Helps reduce ingredient variety by including cucumbers, red peppers, shallots, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and basil in addition to tomatoes.
Ingredients
- •2 lb vine tomatoes (chopped, about 6 tomatoes)
- •½ cucumber (chopped)
- •1 red pepper (chopped)
- •1 shallot (finely chopped)
- •2 cloves garlic (finely chopped)
- •¼ cup olive oil (60 ml)
- •2 tbsp lemon juice (30 ml)
- •1 tsp sea salt
- •¼ tsp pepper
- •¼ cup fresh basil (chopped, to sprinkle)
Instructions
- 1
Fill a large bowl with ice water.
- 2
Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
- 3
Slice a small X into the bottom of each tomato and drop them into the boiling water for 30 seconds.
- 4
Using a slotted spoon, remove the tomatoes from the boiling water and submerge them in the ice water for 1 to 2 minutes.
- 5
Peel away and discard the tomato skins.
- 6
Chop the tomatoes into chunks.
- 7
In a large mixing bowl, combine the tomatoes, cucumber, red pepper, shallot, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper.
- 8
Mix and let sit for at least 20 minutes for the flavors to meld, stirring occasionally.
- 9
Transfer the ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth.
- 10
Chill for at least 2 hours.
- 11
Serve in bowls, sprinkled with fresh basil.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
122
Protein
2g
Fat
9g
Carbs
9g
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