Laurel’s Summer Gazpacho

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This post features guest cook Laurel Goodman showing me her take on gazpacho, a chunky version of the classic cold summer soup, full of great texture as well as rich flavor. You can also get to know Laurel a little bit in this video; she’s just as intriguing and zesty as her soup! 

Laurel Goodman, a VISTA volunteer working for both the Columbia Farmers’ Market and the Missouri River Bluffs Association, shares her fresh, bursting-with-summer-flavor gazpacho recipe. It’s the perfect dish for a hot summer day when tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and sweet peppers are at their peak and readily available. Laurel likes to serve this zesty tomato and cucumber soup nice and cold, with a sprinkling of arugula, minced red onion, and goat cheese.

Using the best our Missouri River Bluffs region has to offer—fruits and vegetables pulled from the earth or plucked from the vine just hours before you put them on your family table; honey gathered from bees sipping nectar near your home county; naturally raised, local beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and eggs—my guests have been showing me how to make the most of what’s available in our local pantry.

Laurel's Summer Gazpacho

A delicious, rustic gazpacho that's perfect on a hot summer day.

Serves: 4
Prep Time: 45 min 
Total Time: 3 hr 

Ingredients

  • 5 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored and quartered, to blend for the soup base (10-11 medium tomatoes)

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

  • Cold water as needed (around 1 cup)

  • 1 additional pound of fresh tomatoes, chopped, with skin

  • 1 small onion, diced

  • 2 garlic cloves, finely minced

  • 1 large red, orange or yellow bell pepper, seeded, diced

  • 1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely minced

  • 1 cucumber, diced

  • 1 or more lemons, juiced (to taste)

  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

  • 1/4 bunch cilantro, chopped

  • Handful arugula, chopped or torn into pieces

  • 2 tablespoons finely minced onion (red, sweet, or green/spring onion is best)

  • 2-3 tablespoons goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

  1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Score a small X on each tomato with a sharp knife, and place in boiling water for 30 seconds or so. Carefully remove tomatoes and put in a bowl of ice-cold water, or rinse under cold running water. When cool, peel off the skin and cut into quarters. Remove tomato cores; seeds can be left in or removed, according to your taste.

  2. Add the tomato quarters to food processor. Pulse until the tomatoes are well pureed, then pour until a large glass or other non-reactive bowl and chill for one hour or more. Chop other veggie while you wait for soup base to chill, then remove bowl from fridge.

  3. Add olive oil and stir. Soup base should be somewhat thin and silky, so add water if needed to thin. Add the rest of the ingredients, stir well, cover, and refrigerate for another hour or so, allowing flavors to meld.

  4. Pour soup into chilled bowls and garnish with arugula, minced red onion, and goat cheese crumbles. Serve cold.

 What’s your favorite summertime dish? Post it in the comment!