My mother just prepared the best gazpacho I’ve ever tasted in my life! I brought a huge box of tomatoes from my garden back to the Midwest with me and since gazpacho is one of her favorite soups along with this intense heat in July, she decided to use them to make her ‘wow-factor’ version of this chilled Spanish tomato-vegetable soup. I inherited my ‘preserve, freeze, and/or can’ outlook from my mother, so not surprisingly, she froze most of this batch of soup to enjoy later. “No waste, no want!” I could easily say that this gazpacho could rival that of the culinary pros.
The color of this soup is seriously this beautiful shade of deep red, resulting from the vine-ripe tomatoes that she used. This radiant color and flavor cannot be achieved with those hard, juice-less, spongy pink things that you find in a grocery store. Also worth noting: the flavor intensifies as it chills in the refrigerator, preferably overnight.
My mother doesn’t use exact measurements, she’s an old-school, taste-as-you-go cook and she is a master at it. So I said that she had to give me a little help to be able to write down the recipe and post it here.
Gazpacho ala Mama
Ingredients
- 6 cups chopped, vine-ripe, fresh tomatoes
- 2 large cucumbers, 1 peeled, 1 with peel left on, all seeds removed, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 2 cups chopped celery, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 1 cup Vidalia onion, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 2 red peppers, stem and seeds removed, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 1 yellow pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 1 green pepper, stem and seeds removed, sliced and cut into 1/4″ chunks
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/3 cup vinegar: 1/2 of it balsamic vinegar and 1/2 of it red wine vinegar
- 2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
- 5 cups tomato juice (Campbell’s brand is recommended)
Instructions
- Mix everything together and chill overnight for the best marriage of flavors!
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Enjoy this delicious Gazpacho!
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Oh Mama Mia.I love nothing more tahn gaspadio in the summer.It looks fantastic;)
Oh Roz! That looks absolutely gorgeous! I wonder if you have a good recipe for Minestrone. I have my own recipe but I’ll have a look through your web site for yours.
Anne xx
You know, I’ve never had gazpacho. Must fix that.
Anything mexican I am there ! This is so refreshing at this time of year just love the freshness!
The color is divine!! So fresh and delicious on a hot day. Yummy!
that looks wonderful roz and even more special when it’s made by mom! anne
Hi Roz,
Your mom is the best ever! Your beautiful photos make me wish for a bowl right now.
I worked in a small Mexican restaurant where I was first introduced to Gazpacho. My boss prepared a spicy version that was fabulous and a huge summer hit!
Have a great weekend and enjoy your soup 🙂
Wow amazing colors! I love Italian food and aiways on the search for good authentic recipes. Yours looks delicious,
New follower and excited..
I really see that WOW factor here. Di a tua mamma che e’ una bravissima cuoca 🙂
I am a soup gal! This looks crazy delish!
I am a soup gal! This looks crazy delish!
And here I thought my mom had the best recipe!!! This looks excellent, Roz…I’m a huge fan of gazpacho. Please give your mom and Kelly a big hug from me 🙂 xo
Mom always knows best. Perfect for these hot dog days of summer Roz.
Sam
What a mom you have! Even though I love soup, I’ve never been a big cold soup fan; but this looks so delicious if you’re freezing it, well, then, I’ll just heat it up later. Stay cool! (I think I cook like your mom, but I’m still an apprentice!)
Bella Mamma! This one is being bookmarked for sure!
This looks and sounds amazing~ I wanna come stay for a visit and learn some wonderful new recipes like this! (Your mom sounds as if she was a great cook!)
What a delicious way to beat the heat.
Oh! Beautiful! And you are so right about the color.
Thanks for sharing this with Garden Variety Wednesday!
Now that all the produce is coming through – I will be making this. Your mother is a very wise woman and this soup beckons.
you have induced a craving!
Wow, this soup looks so gorgeous and delicious! Your own homegrown tomatoes, envy, envy…! 🙂
Ummm… YUMMMMMM! Can you send your momma over to my house to cook for me! Wow, it looks amazing much less tastes amazing. Seriously, so fresh and vibrant and I can see the flavors just oozing out from the picture!Go momma!
Mmmm.. this looks great. I’ve never had gazpacho either, really… And today’s grocery day, so I think I’ll plan for it this week. Looks delicious!
Roz ! Just love your recipes! We too came from Italian Mamma! Delicious recipes! Thanks for sharing!
Roz, I just found you ! Wow, What a wonderful blog! I’ll be joining you for Fresh Food Friday!
The gazspacho from your mother looks fabulous and so fresh. Perfect supper to beat the heat!
Please join me at StoneGable for ON THE MENU MONDAY. This recipe would be a lovely addition.
So nice to stop by today!
Yvonne
Your site is so cute! I liked you through facebook– if you could follow me back that would be great!
Gazpacho is so refreshing. I think it cools the body from the inside out. What a beautiful soup!
Hi other Roz!!!!! Your Mama’s gazpacho looks fantastic! (I could go for a bowl of it right now!!!) I’m going to book mark the recipe and give it a go. Hope your Monday has gone well!!! Roz in Canada.
As someone else said, I think I’m drooling. I love this for dinner on a cold, rainy night.
Made it last night for my husband and I – really, really great dinner!! We licked up every last bit and it was deemed worthy of the repeat list : ) Thank you!!
I don’t think there is a more beautiful soup than this one, Roz. What a perfect meal for a warm summer evening.
A lovely gazpacho! Beautiful and appetizing.
Cheers,
Rosa
Your Mum’s Gazpacho looks delicious.
I’m making gazpacho today…and just had to compare your mama’s recipe to my mama’s recipe! Gorgeous as are all of your creations~xoxo
A fantastic summer recipe to use the tomatoes from your own garden! The soup looks so very appetizing!
Thanks Angie, it is also perfect for these hot summer days!
Woo hoo, Roz! Your mom knew how to do this! It looks sooo delicious! I love gazpacho but have never made it. So now I can with this great recipe! Thanks! Take care and enjoy the rest of summer!
Thanks Pam, I sure will enjoy the rest of summer . . . it’s flying by! One more month and I’m back teaching. That’s a good thing too though.
Ciao,
Roz