SOUP
This chilled tomato soup is precisely as simple as summer recipes should be. You only need a few good tomatoes and some pantry essentials to have it mixed and ready within minutes. We top it with sourdough croutons and fresh dill but our kids decorate theirs with popcorn!
10 minutes
Serves 4
10 minutes
Serves 4
Hello! It's been a while. Too long! But you know, summer holidays and all that. We have mostly stayed in our country house in the Stockholm archipelago, visited Luise's family in Denmark and went on a short but sweet campervan trip.
We have lived on easy summer recipes and the easiest of them all is probably this cold tomato soup (if you don't include strawberry sandwiches, which arguably are easier). I have lost count how many times we've had gazpacho this summer but at least once a week.
You just need a few good tomatoes, some pantry essentials and a blender to have it ready in around five minutes (plus chilling time).
In Barcelona you can get pretty decent gazpacho from the supermarket which I always considered a win. But making your own gazpacho is actually quicker than going to she supermarket. A little chop chop and a little whizz whizz with the blender and it is ready. A big bonus is that our kids love it (maybe partly because they have made a habit to top their soup with popcorn).
Traditional gazpacho recipes include bread in the soup but we think it's fresher to leave it out and fry the bread into croutons for topping instead. The combo of warm crunchy bread on cold soup is phenomenal. One other thing we have done a little differently is adding dill to the soup. We have been obsessed with dill lately and it pairs really well with tomatoes. Kind of like basil's more interesting sibling.
So consider this a reminder to use your blender next time you are in the kitchen with a few good tomatoes and zero ideas what to cook (or put them on a flatbread).

Like many of our recipes, this one is easy to vary to your preference so we're listing some ideas here below. Enjoy and speak soon!
Ways to vary your gazpacho (technically it might not be a gazpacho anymore but it's just as good):
• You can replace bell pepper or cucumber with a bit of fennel, zucchini, spinach/kale or other vegetables that you would eat raw.
• This is a vegan recipe but if you want to add some dairy, feta cheese is good on top, or a dollop of cream or creme fraiche.
• To make the topping gluten free, use a gluten free bread for the croutons or replace them with toasted seeds, almonds, finely chopped bell pepper and cucumber or POPCORN!
• Replace one of the tomatoes with a few strawberries or watermelon for a fruity and sweeter twist. Ten years ago we posted this watermelon gazpacho which also is amazing but perhaps a bit more of a starter than a main dish.
• If you want to eat it cold but don't want to wait for it to chill in the fridge, you can add a few ice cubes when mixing. It will however make the soup a little more liquid, which you can fix by adding a little bread (or almond flour for a gf version). Or serve the soup in glasses with ice cubes added.
• This might sound a bit controversial but you can actually also heat your gazpacho and turn it into a hot tomato soup (or pasta sauce). Add a bit of creme fraiche or vegan creamer to add depth to it. But perhaps don't heat it if you've already added strawberries or watermelon ;)
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