I was first introduced to Gazpacho many moons ago at a backyard BBQ. The dish I tried had chunks of fresh cucumber, tomato and onion in an herby tomato broth. It was wonderful! Years later I decided to make my own Gazpacho and whipped out the laptop to find a good recipe. Much to my surprise, recipe after recipe called for some degree of pureeing of the ingredients, which did not in any way recall the wonderful chunky Gazpacho of my somewhat faded but still mostly accurate memory. So I struck out on my own, pulled inspiration where I could, and came up with a reasonable facsimile.

I love keeping a big container of this around in the summer. It’s great when I want a quick fresh snack at the end of a long day, or in the evening when I get the munchies and don’t want to turn to the salty starch staples like crackers and chips. 

Most of the work for this dish is in the prep. Here are the chopped tomatoes. Yes, the skins are still on! Yeesh.

Use a small teaspoon to seed the cucumbers.

Onion and Red Bell and Poblano, oh my! (Yes, I forgot to buy a red onion)

 Almost there…

Ah! It’s like summer in a bowl. Yum yum.

Very (Very) Chunky Gazpacho
Serves 6-8

8 cups tomato juice (one cup reserved), preferable bottled, not canned
6 ripe roma tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped (peeled if you have oodles of time)
2 Cucumbers, peeled, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 poblano or anaheim pepper (or green bell if you really have to), seeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 tsp cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup lime juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Salt, pepper and hot sauce (e.g. Tabasco) to taste
Extra virgin olive oil (optional)

• In a food processor, pulse about half of the tomatoes until just pureed.
• In a glass or non-reactive bowl, combine the pureed and chopped tomatoes with 4 cups of tomato juice and the remainder of the ingredients up to the Worcestershire sauce.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight.
• After the ingredients have been allowed to combine overnight, taste for seasoning and heat, and adjust with salt, pepper and hot sauce accordingly. If the Gazpacho is thicker than you would like, add reserved cup of tomato juice.
• Serve chilled and lightly drizzled with olive oil, if desired.

(Print Recipe)

You might also enjoy:<:

1. Green Tomato Muffins and the Birth of a Blog Post
2. Pico de Gallo
3. Bollito Di Manzo – Italian Boiled Beef with Tomato, Anchovy and Caper Sauce

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