I went 27 years of my life never making Gazpacho and in the past 2 weeks I’ve made it 3 times. I blame hot yoga and my crazy water cravings. ;)
“Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its cold temperature and acidic bite.” [source]
Gazpacho is not only refreshing and light during the Spring and Summer months, but it is packed with healthy ingredients- a ‘salad in a blender’ if you will. I just can’t get enough of it!
My first attempt…was not something I’m proud of. I learned a very important lesson when making Gazpacho- go EASY on the raw garlic! Lesson #1 learned. I did keep away the vampires though.
I also found out that blending spinach and basil with tomatoes produces a lovely puke green colour…
Lesson #2 learned. Avoid puke green.
My second attempt was better and I loved my third attempt, so I‘m sharing it with you today. I can’t think of a better way to kick off the Victoria Day long weekend than by sitting down to a fresh bowl of chilled Gazpacho. After all, it just may balance out all that beer we will be drinking!
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Gazpacho
Yield
2 litres (8 cups)
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
3 to 4 hours, or overnight
Total time
This is the perfect soup to serve on a hot summer day. Bonus points if you’re eating outside! A word to the wise, this recipe makes a lot—almost 8 cups. I find it barely fits in my 64-ounce Vitamix. If you are using a smaller blender, I recommend blending the soup in batches before mixing it all together at the end.
Ingredients
- 2 cups (500 mL) vegetable cocktail or tomato juice*
- 1 1/2 pounds (0.6 kg) tomatoes, cored and roughly chopped
- 1 medium/large (425 g) red pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1 medium/large English cucumber, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1/4 cup (30 g) chopped sweet onion
- 1 medium/large garlic clove
- 1 tablespoon (15 mL) fresh lime juice, or to taste
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
- Fine sea salt, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, or to taste
- 1 1/2–3 tablespoons (22.5 to 45 mL) red wine vinegar, to taste
- Chopped bell peppers, avocado, green onion, olive oil, croutons, etc., for serving
Directions
- Combine the vegetable cocktail or tomato juice, tomatoes, red pepper, cucumber, onion, garlic, lime juice, and parsley (if using) in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Add in the rest of the seasonings (salt, red pepper flakes, pepper, and vinegar) to taste, and blend again.
- Pour into a 2-litre/8 cup glass jar and secure lid. Chill for 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.
- Before serving, shake the jar to combine. Pour into bowls, and garnish with your desired toppings (such as chopped peppers, avocado, green onion, croutons, olive oil, etc.). Leftovers will keep in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Tip:
* I like to use Lakewood Organic Super Veggie Cocktail.
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
Some of you asked if I could show some before and afters using my new 5-in-1 Reflector Kit. This morning it was actually sunny, so I busted out the diffusion disc for this shoot.
One of the best photography tips I ever learned was taught to me by my wedding photographer, Dave Biesse. I was excited that it was sunny for our outdoor engagement shoot and he said bright sunlight is actually the worst condition to shoot in (unless of course you are going for a certain kind of look). The sun creates a very harsh-looking photo if you aren’t careful.
Case in point: this produce was shot in direct sunlight. It looks harsh and shadowy.
Check out the same shot, using my diffusion disc placed in front of the window. Quite the difference. You can see that the glare is gone.
Another direct sunlight shot:
With diffusion disc…much better!
I’m happy to have a diffusion disc now because I used to have to move my table out of the sunlight and it was pretty annoying to keep shuffling everything around. Now I can just place the disc in front of the window and shoot away.
I also thought I would show you the first shot of the Gazpacho that I took:
Boring. Bland. Not exciting at all. It really doesn’t do this vibrant gazpacho any justice, does it?
I decided to play up the yellow pepper garnish, and I added these yellow rimmed plates (a birthday gift from Morgan!)
It was an improvement, but the black background still wasn’t doing it for me. It was too serious and sombre looking for this playful soup.
I tried this placemat:
Still not crazy about it!
Then, I decided to add some props (tomatoes and parsley) and a new placemat…
It really started to come together when I did this.
In this photo, I tilted the placemat so that the lines create more movement in the photo. I still don’t feel that skilled with food photography, but practice definitely helps! I would love to take a food photography workshop someday.
Before: After:
Moral of the story: Play with your food. :)
And go have yourself a great Friday!
Love the “play with your food” photos. While I like to take food photographs, I don’t think I have the patience to take a lot of them…I just stick to taking a few and picking the best ones.
I love gazpacho, but I’m going to wait until we have garden tomatoes and herbs before I make some. Yum!
The soup looks amazing… I’m just no good at waiting over night before I get to eat something!
You can also serve it immediately with an ice cube mixed in :)
I love the way you set up your food shots. I wish I had more time to play (and more natural light to play around with!) I’ve never made gazpacho, but it really is a great summer dish. I recently came across a recipe for mango-spacho that I’m gonna give a whirl soon. Should be able to avoid the puke green color with that one!
Have a great weekend, Angela!
Mmm I came across a mango gazpacho yesterday too! I can’t wait to make it. :)
WOAH the after is SO much better!! ive never made gazpacho! i always thought it would be sUPER DUPEr challenging !
Love the before and after contrast :)
I love gazpacho in the summer! So refreshing. I usually have to place my food very precariously on our balcony ledge to get photos with a little natural light… So worth it to play with your food for a good shot. :)
Yum! I can’t wait to try this! Hubby has turned his nose up at cold soups in the past, but I’ll keep trying!
Eric doesn’t like cold soup either, but Im convinced he will enjoy this one! heh
Great photos! This looks so delicious!
your photo setups are awesome! I’m hoping to start collecting more bowls, placemats, and rustic looking cookware to experiment with my photography.
Looks amazing! Would like to try this, need something light and healthy for summer. You just can’t have things too heavy in the heat.
Suzanne Williams
Good call on reworking the “puke green” bowl – LOL!
I love gazpacho, but have never attempted my own. This will be in my rotation now. :)
Angela I love seeing the food photography shoot evolve and what you did to tweak and change things. The final images are gorgeous! The placemat is awesome (I think I’ve seen it before in other shoots as well as the burlap-ish looking one…both of which seem extremely!! versatile and I am on the hunt for something like that too!)
I have a set of pink and white bowls and plates that end up in half my shoots lately. I need to expand my earth toned props/colors like you have. I wish I could raid your prop closet :) When I took my photography & food styling class w/ Matt & Adam at their studio it pretty much was like dying and going to foodie photographer heaven. The choices. I can’t even describe to you!! You’d never leave California if you saw it :)
Direct lighting being harsh..yes! Just shot a smoothie poolside in Aruba in the middle afternoon sun and the lighting was so harsh and shadowy that I had to really tone things down in editing and still impossible to get rid of all the shadows.
I have a camera question for you. Gonna email you…
:)
If we lived close we could do a prop exchange! I need new ones…Ive worn out the same 4 in every shot..haha. I think T & FG will start rejecting me solely based on old props. ;)
Angela,
I’ve been loving the posts, especially the information on hot yoga. Is the hot yoga that you do similar to Bikram?
Two silly questions. Do you like the Vita Mix (is it worth saving for)? And…I don’t have a food processor, what kind do you use?
Hope you will be enjoying warm, dry weather for your long weekend!
I have a 12 cup kitchen aid processor and it works good…no major complaints.
I also do think the vitamix is worth it if you make lots of smoothies, gazpachos, sauces, etc.
Some people say it is a more kind form of bikram. It is not as rigid as Bikram because the class poses can change up a bit and there is more variation. I do want to try a Bikram class someday because I think it would apppeal to my love of discipline!
I know this question wasn’t for me! But I’m sorry, I have to answer it! Save for your vitamix! I use mine nearly everyday. I make smoothies for myself and my family! I make hot soup, I make cold soup, I make sauce, I make salsa, I make homemade broth for hot soup, I chop cabbage, I chop carrots, I chop artichoke hearts, I chop any vegetable really! I hide lots of extra vegetables in spaghetti sauce, I make what my family calls vitamix eggs (basically green eggs NO HAM! lol!), I make applesauce-All with my vitamix! It’s so easy to clean! It’s going on 6 years that I’ve had it and I have had no problems yet, even if I did, there is a lifetime guarantee! They are used industrially at Jamba juice and lesser known smoothie shops! It comes with an awesome recipe book and instructions and you can even get a raw food based model like mine. Have you been to their website? Check it out! Mine came from Costco, I got an awesome deal on it. And then I went to their website and for the dry one for making flour. You will not be disappointed in your vitamix. The only disappointment will be not having one! I promise, I am not affiliated with vitamix in any professional way. I just love mine!
Have you tried watermelon gazpacho??? Its amazing for a snack after hot yoga!! I got my recipe from Raw Food Real World.
LOVE LOVE LOVE Your website and blog I follow you everyday. I’m from Langley BC I check you out first thing each day. I just became vegan Feb 1st this year went from a hardcore carnivore to full on vegan cold turkey.
Thank you for your inspiration each day :-)
hank you Janet!
I have not tried it but cant wait!
WOW Ange, these photos are SO gorgeous!!!! The soup looks delicious and I’m not really a cold soup sort of gal, but I bet even your puke green one was good! :)
Thanks Ange!
I HEART gazpacho…it’s heaven on a hot day ( or after a hot yoga class!)!!!
Beautiful photos, but more importantly, the soup! I LOVE gazpacho. I have never blended it though. I like to leave mine nice and chunky, but I bet throwing everything into the vitamix is a lot faster!
I made gazpacho for the first time last summer and it was gone in 30 min! I love the combination of the tomato, cucumber, onion and vinegar. It’s amazing!! I purposely leave chunks of the tomato aside and mix them in after to create a thicker texture. Try it!
ive never had gazpacho..honestly it sort of scares me….lol your photos are beautiful…have you been using your lightbox?
It used to scare me too! I quickly got over that fear when I tasted it.
I havent been using my light box since the daylight hours got longer :)
I love your photographs! And that gazpacho looks so refreshing!
I’ve always wanted to try this, but I’m not good with tomatoes. Maybe mixed in with all the different vegetables and flavours I will be able to enjoy it, as well as really giving it a good blend! The photos are great! It’s amazing to see how just a few adjustments can make a meal look so much more appetetizing! Looking forward to seeing more beauty shots!
On a side note, I had to take the 407 today to get to the school I was supplying at in Brampton, and had the joy of driving somewhat through your town (just the outskirts, but still). I’ve never been, but it was a wonderful ride compared to the gruelling QE (hillsides and greenery > grey buildings and gazillions of cars).
hehe ‘beauty shots’ love that :)
Yes it is wonderfully green right now…so peaceful!
Hmmm that soup looks delicious. It’s starting to be summer here, and I’m going to be needing some easy go-to cooling recipes.
PS You are great at food photography. I think your blog has some of the prettiest food pictures. Even if your recipe doesn’t hook me, the photo of the food makes me want some!
Your food photography is so inspiring!
I love that you shared your first few pictures. Especially because the first thing I thought when I saw this post was how pretty the picture was.
The recipe sounds amazing too. I’ve always wanted to try gazpacho.
Oh, I am so excited to try this recipe. I tried making Gazpacho once and it wasn’t all I wanted it to be. Everyone keeps telling me how amazing it is but I just needed a good recipe. Thanks!!
Love gazpacho! I like making mine with watermelon, basil, champagne vinegar and cayenne pepper. So good!
Thanks for the photography tips. I like the props, but I’m a bit of a purist and sometimes prefer to showcase the actual dish rather than distract the viewer with fancy napkins and plates, etc.
I have always been nervous about gazpacho but I think I will have to try it! This looks delicious!
Gazpacho is seriously the only thing i eat in the summer! I never make it until i can get real fresh local tomatoes and herbs (preferably from my garden) it really makes the taste that much more vibrant!
Love the photos! You could teach a food photography class:)
Thanks for the photography tips, I definitely need as much as I can get! And I love the “play with your food” tip :)
love learning all about your little photography tips! I made gazpacho once before but wasn’t a fan of the cold texture of the veggies :( I’ll have to give this a try.. if I can drink green monsters I can eat yummy gazpacho
Such beautiful photos, and this looks amazing. You must send me some :P
(FYI I have a Stevivia giveaway going on in my blog if you want to get in on it :D )
Wow you really have an eye for (food) pictures!
My husband is Spanish and he looooooooves Gazpacho so we make buckets of it during the summer when tomatoes are in season. I use water instead of juice, and can’t get away with any herbs or pepper (they are not “authentic” so my tradition-loving husband does not approve). Spaniards may also add some stale bread (soaked in water before blending) to the mix, it brings more volume to the soup (while being cheaper than tomatoes..), I add it sometimes but not always.
Hope you have lots of hot summer days coming your way to accompany all that gazpacho!
I was just gonna say that about the herbs! I am from Spain and we don’t use herbs in our gazpacho, but gazpacho can be modified so it is okay. I just ran into this blog and I love it, kinda surprised about this recipe he he. You shoukd try to make salmorejo aswell, it is delicious.
Florida is getting incredibly hot and humid so a cold soup sounds wonderful and simple!
Thanks for sharing!
I would love to get good at photography, I need to take some time and just practice I feel like whenever I cook I am always in a hurry to photograph meals! Your pictures are beautiful!
Mmm, I love gazpacho! Such a good summer soup! Your presentation is very pretty. :)
You have such a creative eye and patience for your art. It looks absolutely amazing both the picture and the soup I cant wait to try it.
The third photo in this post is really terrific. It’s interesting that you went on to talk about photography in this post because when I first saw that I thought to myself “wow, she’s really an amazing photographer!” I love how vibrantly red the tomatoes are. You really have a great eye.
thank you!
I don’t love gazpacho but I think it’s 1. because I haven’t had a good one 2. because it sounds too much like gazoontight
What a perfect recipe for spring! Such gorgeous pictures as usual, you are talented Angela!
I’ve never eaten or made gazpacho! It looks so easy though ~ I think I’ll have to give you a try! What difference in your photos – I love the final result!
So Refreshing!
Great pictures, reminds me of summer. :)
I’ve never had gazpacho either! I’m excited to try it! :) Thanks for the recipe!
I totally need a new camera!! What kind do you currently have? Also I’m not sure I would love the cold soup (not a fan of soup to begin with). It LOOKS good but I just don’t know haha
I wasnt sure about the soup either, but now im in love!
I have a canon 30D.
Love this recipe!
Just wanted to comment and say how much I love your blog. I recommend it to anyone I know who is looking for healthy, vegan food! :)
aww thanks! :)
Amazing, amazing pictures! I don’t know how they keep getting better!
Your pictures look fantastic!! And the gazpacho sounds so yummy! I made it once for a school project in Spanish class, but it didn’t taste very good… Yours looks delish, so I will definitely give gazpacho a second chance!
I’ve seen gazpacho all over the internet this week but I’ve been too lazy to google it, so thank you very much…but I do have a question. Isn’t “Andalusia” the home of the cartoon version of princess Giselle from the Disney movie “Enchanted”? :)
Those tomatoes are seriously gorgeous, and the gazpacho sounds/looks wonderful!!
Sounds and looks wonderful. Maybe the warm weather is here to stay this time, and I can blend some up.
Your pictures continue to be fresh, clean, and magazine/book/publication-worthy. Have you ever published photos or considered it?
On another note, gazpacho = awesomesauce.
Thank you! No I havent but maybe some day… ;) A girl can dream.