This cold soup takes advantage of the ripest summer tomatoes and most flavorful cucumbers. If you live in L.A., you’ll basically recognize it as a smoothie, which is not a bad thing — smoothies are fast, nutritious and far from daunting to make.

Summer Gazpacho

This chilled summer soup blends the juiciest, ripest tomatoes with crisp, refreshing cucumbers for a vibrant, sun-soaked flavor. Smooth and nourishing, it’s a cool, effortless dish that feels as familiar as a smoothie yet carries the depth of fresh garden produce. Perfect for a quick, revitalizing meal on a warm day.

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Servings 6

Ingredients

  

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• About 2 pounds ripe red tomatoes cored and roughly cut into chunks. The better your tomato, the better the gazpacho
• 1 yellow or red pepper cored seeded and roughly cut into chunks
• 1 cucumber about 8 inches long, peeled and roughly cut into chunks.
• 1/2 small red chile pepper seeded. If it’s really hot, you could use a little less.
• 1 green onion washed and trimmed
• 2 teaspoons sherry vinegar more to taste
• Salt and pepper
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil more to taste, plus more for drizzling

Instructions

 

• Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, chile, Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.
• With the motor running, add the vinegar and 2 teaspoons salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will turn bright orange or dark pink and become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy.
• OPTIONAL STEP: Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids.
• Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.
• Before serving, adjust the seasonings with salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

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