An easy food processor gazpacho recipe, a spiced, chilled tomato soup, super refreshing and one of my favorite ways to chill on a hot summer day.
This easy gazpacho recipe is so good! Gazpacho, a spiced, chilled tomato soup of Spanish origin, is healthy, very refreshing, and one of my favorite ways to chill on a hot summer day.
My husband introduced me to this soup. I come from a home with fairly bland cooking. He loves everything well seasoned and (preferably) spicy. When he made me gazpacho years ago, we didn’t own a food processor, so he grated the vegetables by hand.
That was NOT an EASY gazpacho recipe, but I thought the soup was amazing. I’d never tried a cold soup before. Now I have several tasty cold soups in my repertoire, including cold avocado soup (yes, it’s wonderful), cold tomato soup (mild and creamy and quite different than gazpacho), and tzatziki.
What ingredients to use in this easy gazpacho recipe
The olive oil is prominent in this gazpacho recipe, so it’s important to use good olive oil that you really enjoy. It’s kind of like cooking with wine. You don’t want to use cheap wine that you would not enjoy drinking. Whether you use bold tasting olive oil or a lighter one is up to you (I’m partial to a bold one). But just make sure it’s extra virgin and high quality.
For the tomato sauce, I like to use Pomi Strained Tomatoes. These Italian tomatoes are delicious and sweet and lack the unpleasant acidic aftertaste typical to many local tomato sauces.
Smooth or chunky?
Some people like to make chunky gazpacho, adding cubed fresh veggies to the soup. I like it all pureed and smooth, though it is still a thick, substantial soup.
How to serve gazpacho?
I usually serve it as a first course. But I like to eat the leftovers for my lunch the next day. So I make myself a bowl, and it’s a lovely summer lunch, tasty and filling. Sometimes I serve it with jalapeno cheese crisps or with almond flour crackers.
What about leftovers?
Gazpacho is one of those dishes that not only keeps well in the fridge, it actually gets better. You can keep it for up to four days, covered, in the fridge. And on the second day, it actually tastes better than when freshly prepared!
Easy Gazpacho Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped (6 oz)
- 1 large red onion, peeled and quartered (8 oz)
- 1/2 cup cilantro (1 oz)
- 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
- 3 cups canned plain tomato sauce, no salt/sugar added
- 1/2 cup water
INSTRUCTIONS
- Place the celery, onion and cilantro in your food processor bowl. Process until finely chopped.
- Add the olive oil, lemon juice, red wine vinegar, garlic, paprika, cumin, kosher salt, black pepper and cayenne. Process until combined.
- Add the tomato sauce. Pulse a few times, until well-blended.
- Add the water. Again, pulse a few times, until well-blended.
- Transfer to a serving bowl. Cover with cling wrap and chill in the fridge at least 2 hours before serving. Mix again before serving.
