Introduction
This cold; summery soup is the easiest dinner party stunner (or quick; lovely lunch). To play up the sweetness of the tomatoes; we like to throw in a few white (or yellow) peaches (or nectarines). A drizzle of basil oil takes the soup from good to grand. Serve cold or room temp with a sprinkle of flavorful things -- like minced cukes; peppers; peaches; thinly shaved chiles; microgreens and/or some edible flowers; if you happen to have any on hand -- and a glass of rosé; naturally.
Ingredients
- 2 large peaches, preferably white, pitted and roughly chopped
- A bit over 2 pounds of multicolored tomatoes, roughly chopped (we like to use a combo of sungolds and heirloom)
- 1 large red (or yellow or orange) bell pepper, de-seeded and roughly chopped
- 2 Persian cucumbers, roughly chopped
- 1 white onion, roughly chopped
- 2 large cloves garlic
- 1-2 tablespoons sherry or red wine vinegar
- Juice of 1 lime
- ¼ cup olive oil
- Sea salt & black pepper
- Basil oil
Instructions
Set a bit of peach; bell pepper and cucumber aside to use as garnish; give it a finer chop to make it garnish-ready. Throw everything else; except the olive oil and salt/pepper; into a blender and blend until smooth. Drizzle in olive oil and salt and blend again until creamy. Taste and adjust salt and acid as needed. (If your blender isn't super powerful; combine the chopped veg; olive oil; vinegar and lime in a big bowl; give it a good sprinkle of salt and pepper; and let it sit for 15-30 minutes to let juices accumulate...this liquid will help your blender pulverize it all.) Serve the gazpacho with a sprinkle of cucumber; bell pepper and peach and a generous drizzle of basil oil (if you have a green chile on hand; that's nice on there; sliced paper thin; too!).*Pro tip: Ask for seconds (aka super super ripe fruit) at the market. They are cheap as can be and it doesn’t matter if your tomatoes/peaches are a bit mushy! It’s all going in the blender. And no need to peel them!