I’ve been wanting to make gazpacho for at least a month now. It’s one of those things I’ve been dying to try but just didn’t feel like I had the time to commit to make it, which was silly really because it’s one of the easiest and least time-consuming recipes I’ve ever made.
It’s also one of the tastiest things I’ve ever made and its vegan and Whole 30 approved.
Why Heirloom Tomatoes
With the bounty of summer vegetables right now you basically can pick a bunch of them and blend. After doing some research, I decided to make a tomato-based gazpacho and not just any tomatoes, but heirloom tomatoes.
Heirloom tomatoes are tomatoes that have been produced through seeds that have been handed down for generations. The seeds are technically the “heirloom” in heirloom tomatoes and some have been in circulation for more than 50 years, according to tomatofest.com.
Heirloom tomatoes have been bread to eliminate the most undesirable characteristics and bolster the positive traits – juiciness, flavor, color, size – that specific farmers enjoyed.
All heirloom tomatoes are open-pollinated, meaning they are a product of natural cross-pollination via insects or farmers’ hands. They aren’t genetically modified or created in the same manner as today’s common tomatoes.
Because of this, heirloom tomatoes are not mass produced. With fewer available they often have higher prices than their counterpart tomatoes.
Impeccable Taste
So why would you pay extra for a tomato that looks kind of funny? Simply put, they taste better. There’s something about the way heirloom tomatoes taste that almost seems to have all that history tied up into them. And, I guess they do since the seeds produced from generation to generation are there.
With all those benefits going for them, they seemed like the perfect base for the gazpacho. That said, because you’re using heirloom tomatoes, you might not get the exact same flavor every single time, but I’ll try to get you as close as possible with the recipe below.
Note 1:
I’ve made this a few times now and before adding additional ingredients to try to get the taste closer to your desired taste, let it sit. Give the flavors time to mingle once it’s done before you do things like add additional acids like more lemon juice or sherry. The second time I made this I started adding more sherry right away to change the taste profile since I used smaller heirloom tomatoes and it was way too much. Follow the recipe and then just before serving decide if it needs anything else. I think you’ll find out it’s fine. 🙂
Note 2:
English cucumbers are also used in this recipe. They are sweeter and seem to balance out the acid of the tomatoes better. Make sure to use this kind.
Final note: If you decide to use regular tomatoes for this I don’t stand by the flavor this recipe might produce. Find the Heirlooms. I was able to locate them at Marianos and Jewel (Albertson’s).
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- 4 heirloom tomatoes – 2 very large funny-looking redish/pink ones and 2 medium redish ones. I don’t recommend using the small, circular yellow ones that I have in one of the photographs. I don’t think they produce the best flavor.
- 1 large English cucumber, peel on
- 1 yellow or orange pepper
- ½ a medium-sized red onion
- 2 medium carrots – make sure these aren’t too large.
- 1 ½ tsp. of salt
- 2 tsp. of garlic, pureed
- ½ cup of olive oil
- ¼ cup of sherry vinegar
- 1 Tbsp. of lemon juice
- 1 cup of water
- Optional toppings: Chives, parsley, cilantro, cream, pine nuts, etc.
- Wash and chop/dice all your produce. Since nothing going to actually be cooked you need to make sure everything is washed well.
- Add your tomatoes, cucumber, pepper, red onion and carrots to a bowl. Add in your salt and toss everything to coat it.
- Put your bowl in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.
- After 30 minutes, add your veggies to the blender with your olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic and lemon juice. I have to make mine in three batches, so I usually add the garlic and lemon juice all to the first batch and then add olive oil and the sherry vinegar to each batch.
- Blend on liquify.
- Once each batch is done add them to a large bowl. You can leave it as is or if you have an emulsion blender you can use that for a smoother finish as you add in the water.
- Put back in the refrigerator for at least one hour.
- Remove from the refrigerator and add additional salt and pepper as needed. Make sure you mix it well and take a few bites before adding anything though. You really shouldn’t need much due to the flavors of all the vegetables.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did! I’ve made it again, so I can eat it for lunch every day this week. 🙂 Happy eating, friends.
I have never tried gazpacho soup! I know it’s crazy to hear that but I have not. This one definitely looks like a good one to try. It does look absolutely delicious.
LOVEEEEEEEE GAZPACHO!! YES I DO! I HAVEN’T had it in forever though and now… I have to get to the store, buy all these ingredients and MAKE IT!
my maternal family is from southern Spain so they prepare a really good gazpacho. I always enjoyed a glass on those scorching summer days 🙂
This recipe is perfect for a cool fall day. I love the flavor of tomato soup, and these heirloom tomatoes you chose look gorgeous.
I have never made gazpacho soup before this looks good I have made just tomato soup but this looks even better.
That looks so yummy! I’ve never heard of heirloom tomatoes! I’m going to look for them when I go to the market so that I can try this recipe!
This is a very delicious looking soup! I’d love trying this one. With Fall coming, this will be great for a cool Fall day!
This is something I’d definitely like to try. Working with heirloom tomatoes sounds like fun and the soup must be the perfect lunch.
This sounds like the most perfect, yummy end of summer/beginning of fall meal! I better go stock up on all the heirloom tomatoes from my local farmers market!
This looks so incredible. I cannot wait to try this. I am all about tomatoes and I’m pretty sure I’d love this. I’ll add it to my list of new recipes to try.
I absolutely love Gazpacho! I’ve never made it myself though – I’ve only eaten it in restaurants, so will have to give your recipe a try…
We have a bunch of ripe tomatoes in our garden right now and this is a perfect way to use them all up!
I love this time of year specifically for all of the amazing and yummy soup recipes!! I think this yummy sounding Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho Soup will hit the spot with a grilled cheese sammy on the side! LOL!
I haven’t tried Gazpacho soup yet. It sure looks delicious and I am glad I chanced upon your recipe. It is that time of year again when hearty soups are in demand in my house. I will add this to our menu plan for next week. Thanks for sharing the recipe.
Heirloom tomatoes are absolutely divine, especially when they’re fresh picked from the garden! This soup looks beautiful and delicious.
I’ve never had gazpacho…but it’s not because I don’t like it! I never even considered making it myself, so this is a great recipe for me right now!
I love the color of this recipe. You can tell it was made with delicious tomatoes! I am so lucky here in NJ we are full blown into Jersey tomatoes!
I recently had tomato gazpacho at a restaurant ant LOVED it. The dish just screams summer 🙂
Heirloom tomatoes are my favorite tomatoes. They have so much more flavor than hybrid tomatoes.
This looks so darn delicious! I need to make this for my family asap! They would love it.
The type of fruit and vegetables can make such a difference in meals. I like trying to find the ones that look a little different that most people look over. I’ve never had gazpacho so I’ll have to try this!
This looks sooo yummy! I love anything tomato.
Yum, tomato gazpacho sounds delicious amidst this typhoon and heavy rain we are going through here in Tokyo. The colors and pictures you shared are so fall appropriate!
I’ve had gazpacho, but I’ve never tried to make it myself. I love tomatoes though, and I’ll have to give your recipe a try. Perfect for a hot summer day!
I have never tried gazpacho! I guess I’m really missing out, huh? I love pretty much all tomato based soups, so I can totally see myself being in love with this one!
This looks like a really good recipe. I haven’t tried this before either. I can’t wait to make it and give it a try. A great recipe for fall!
I’ve never seen a tomato like that. My son adores tomatoes, he’d eat them like he eats apples. I’ve never tasted the soup but it looks good and something that’s great for cold days`
It looks really tasty! My family will love this!
Okay, ready to go and make some of this! We just had some grilled red pepper and tomato soup and I bet we’d love this recipe too!
I’m all about soups in the fall so I’ll definitely be making this one. What a delicious and colorful dish!
This gazpacho looks delicious! I’ve never attempted making my own but am saving this recipe to try it out.
Being from NJ I think this would go great using some Jersey tomatoes!
I have never had gazpacho before. Although I love hot soup, I might want to try this one, it sound refreshing.
I am so ready to try this. We have a bumper crop of tomatoes and I love gazpacho. This recipe is easy and looks delicious.
I absolutely love tomato soup, especially in the fall! This recipe sounds amazing, I can’t wait to try making it!
I love heirloom tomatoes but have never used them in this way! This looks great, and I can’t wait to try it.
I wish i found this recipe early months ago. I have plenty of tomato from our garden and this recipe is perfect on what I can make for it. I will definitely save it for the future. computer.
I love tomato anything and have never tried gazpacho, so this would be interesting to attempt! The brief history you provided on heirloom tomatoes was interesting too. I had no idea they were bred to only have the most preferable traits. Hopefully I’ll still be able to find some in the grocery store when I go!
I have never tried this dish but will give it a go with your advice ! Love your honesty about the taste you might get with normal tomatoes ?
have never tried this dish but will give it a go with your advice ! Love your honesty about the taste you might get with normal tomatoes ?
That’s really easy and looks so delicious! He have a few tomatoes left in our garden, I think they will be perfect for this recipe!
Oh yum! This looks so amazing and sounds yummy. The perfect meal for fall!
I’ve never tried gazpacho. The idea of cold soup just doesn’t get me excited. I definitely want to try it sometime though.
Yum this looks amazing! I’ve never had gazpacho before but think it looks delicious!
What a beautiful, colorful, healthy soup recipe! I look forward to adding this to my meal-plan rotation.
This looks awesome! We really love tomatoes in our home and my daughters would like this soup as we get closer to fall. We are all super excited about the changing season and can’t wait to start eating warmer meals!
I love tomato soup! I’ve never perfected the recipe at home but I would love to try this.