How to Make the Perfect Summer Soup In a Blender

Summer and soup don’t often go hand-in-hand, but a chilled and refreshing recipe that utilizes the season’s best is something we can definitely get behind. Enter this one-pot (blender, if we’re getting technical), no-cook dish featuring fresh tomatoes and a handful of veggies, which takes a surprisingly brief amount of time to make. Whip up a batch for dinner or serve in mini shooters for a round of appetizers at your next fete. Bonus points if you let it chill overnight—the flavors will meld together, resulting in quite the delectable blend. Read on for the recipe below!

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, skinned and deseeded
• 1 cup sliced cucumbers
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• splash of half lemon
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste

Toppings

• crostini, cubed
• roasted slivered almonds
• leftover veggies (we used cucumbers and onions, finely cubed)
• sea salt flakes

Prep all your ingredients and set aside. The beauty of gazpacho is that you can be unrestrained when it comes to the measurements of the ingredients. More cucumbers can contribute to an extra refreshing twist while onions will bring about a bolder bite. An added splash of freshly squeezed lemon will impart the overall dish with a more tangy twist, whereas the red bell pepper will devote a sweeter note.

Place all of the ingredients—save for the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and salt—into the blender and blend on high for two minutes. Add the olive oil and sherry vinegar, in a thin stream, and season with the salt and pepper. Blend until the mixture is fully homogenous.

Season generously with salt. You’ll find that once you refrigerate the gazpacho, it’ll require even more salt to really highlight the flavors.

Once thoroughly blended, pour the mixture into individual glasses and chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.

Before serving, garnish the individual glasses with the prepared toppings. Begin with the crostini to create the base (and to avoid losing the finer veggies in the soup), and top with the diced cucumbers, slivered almonds, onions, and sea salt flakes. Serve and enjoy!

• 1 1/2 pounds tomatoes, skinned and deseeded
• 1 cup sliced cucumbers
• 1/3 cup onion, chopped
• 1/2 red bell pepper, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• splash of half lemon
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• salt & pepper, to taste

• crostini, cubed
• roasted slivered almonds
• leftover veggies (we used cucumbers and onions, finely cubed)
• sea salt flakes

Directions

1. Place all of the ingredients—save for the olive oil, sherry vinegar, and salt—into the blender and blend on high for two minutes.
2. Add the olive oil and sherry vinegar, in a thin stream, and season with the salt and pepper. Blend until thoroughly mixed.
3. Pour the mixture into individual glasses and chill for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight.
4. To serve, garnish each with the prepared toppings beginning with the crostini and then the diced cucumbers, slivered almonds, onions, and sea salt flakes. Serve and enjoy!

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