Chilled Tomato Gazpacho with Cucumber
Raw tomatoes, cucumber, and peppers blended smooth and served cold — the only soup all summer that never touches a stove.
- Serves
- 4
- Prep
- 20 min (plus 2 hr chilling)
- Cook
- 0 min
- Written
Method
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Combine the tomatoes, cucumber, bell pepper, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, torn bread, and 1 teaspoon salt in a blender.
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Blend on high until completely smooth, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides once.
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Taste and adjust with more vinegar or salt — it should taste a shade too sharp cold, since chilling mutes seasoning.
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Pass through a fine-mesh strainer for a silkier texture, if you like, pressing on the solids to extract as much liquid as possible.
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Cover and refrigerate until fully cold, at least 2 hours.
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Ladle into bowls, top with diced cucumber and tomato, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Notes
The torn bread isn’t filler — it’s what gives the soup body instead of leaving it as thin tomato water, a trick straight out of Andalusia where this started as a way to use up stale loaves. Skip it if you want something lighter, but the texture won’t be the same.
This gets better after a night in the fridge, so make it the day before if you can. Serve it properly cold, in chilled bowls if you have them — a lukewarm gazpacho tastes like a mistake.