Watermelon and Tomato Gazpacho | Award-Winning Paleo Recipes | Nom Nom Paleo

By altschiller

Ingredients

• 2 pounds ripe tomatoes
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 hothouse cucumber (approximately 1 pound)
• 2 small shallots, coarsely chopped
• 4 cilantro stalks
• 1 pound cubed watermelon (approximately 3 cups)
• 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus extra for garnish
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Freshly ground pepper
• Pinch of red pepper flakes (optional)

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from nomnompaleo.com

Preparation

Step 1

what gazpacho tastes like when it’s made with sun-ripened heirloom tomatoes and not V8 mixed with metallic-tasting canned tomatoes! These days, gazpacho is one of my favorite simple, make-ahead summertime recipes — especially when combined with the bright flavors of juicy watermelon, cool cucumbers, and crisp red peppers.

optional. Make this soup when you’re wilting under the heat of the summer sun, and you’ll thank me.

64-ounce Vitamix

. If you’ve got a smaller blender, divide the recipe in half or blend in batches. Alternatively, you can purée the soup in a food processor, but you won’t achieve the same smooth texture.)

Here’s what to gather to make 8 cups:

Here’s how you make the soup:

As I mentioned, peeling the tomatoes makes a HUGE difference in the final texture and taste of the soup. And tomatoes are easy to peel after you quickly blanch them and shock them in ice water.

Fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil.

…and drop them into the boiling water for 30 seconds.

Chop the slices into a medium dice. (If your blender isn’t very powerful, chop the peppers into even smaller pieces.)

Roughly chop up the rest of the cucumber. Again, if you’ve got a wimpy blender, hack the pieces smaller.

Next, dump the shallots, cucumber, bell pepper, cilantro, and tomatoes into the blender, and…

…blend until puréed. Make sure to cover the lid with a towel to reduce splashes and splatters.

While the blender is whirring away, cube and de-seed the watermelon.

…add the watermelon, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Blend until smooth.

Refrigerate the soup in the blender cup for at least 4 hours or until it’s fully chilled.

The ingredients may separate a bit while resting in the fridge, so when you’re ready to serve, stick the soup back on the blender base and blitz it again to re-combine everything. And while you’re at it, dice up the reserved cucumber.

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and added: