Make this easy summer soup using your fresh garden tomatoes, those you buy from a nearby farmer, or heirlooms from the grocery. The quality of your tomatoes is everything here, but it doesn’t matter what mix you use—some cherry tomatoes, some bigger ones, stray bits of tomato leftover after taking the middles slices for a BLT—toss them all into the food processor. Alternatively, you can use a blender, just keep the power level down low so you preserve some texture rather than making a smoothie. Best enjoyed same day, but refrigerate any leftovers as they will be enjoyable for a couple days.
Recipe from RiPE circa 2008, published in Edible Bozeman issue 9 Summer 2021.
Photography by Samantha Lord.
Farmers Market Gazpacho
serves 4–6
Ingredients
The vegetables
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5
medium sized, ripe garden tomatoes
(heirlooms like Marvel Stripe and Brandywine are worth seeking out for their flavor as well as beautiful color)
approx. 2 pounds - 2 ribs fresh celery, peeled and diced
- 1 cucumber, peeled and cut in a fewlarge pieces
- ¼ red onion, finely diced
The vinaigrette
- 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed and strained of pulp
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
Instructions
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Set your food processor or blender next to your cutting board and wash and dry all your vegetables. Before you get chopping, you will want to have some attractive, tiny-diced tomato, cucumber and red onion to stir into the soup as a garnish. Start by making the tiny-diced equivalent of 1 tomato, and a tablespoon each of the cucumber and red onion. As you’re doing this, toss the odd-sized bits into the food processor, setting aside the tomato cores and stems for compost. Set aside the tiny-diced veggies.
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Roughly chop the remaining tomatoes and other vegetables, add them to the processor, and pulse until combined. If you are using a blender, particularly a VitaMix, take care not to overprocess the ingredients.
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Pour the blended veggies into a large ceramic or glass bowl and drizzle in the lemon juice, vinegar, and olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and stir to combine. Stir in the reserved tiny-diced vegetables and serve.
