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Strawberry Tomato Gazpacho

  • June 26, 2017

This soup would never have been on my radar until last week, when I ate dinner at a restaurant called Larimar, in Spring Lake, New Jersey. Intrigued by the waiter’s description of the dish, I ordered something similar to this as an appetizer and after one sip, I knew I had to try to recreate it in my kitchen.

If it’s not exactly the same, it’s quite close, I think. The big difference is that the restaurant served its version topped with chunks of crabmeat, something you could easily do if you live near a good fish market.
If not, it tastes great all by itself, decorated with a strawberry and some edible flowers.
 I’d been looking for a way to use the pretty blue borage flowers (and the pansies are still going strong) that are blooming in my garden right now.
The soup makes a terrific first course – we ate it for dinner last night ahead of some leftover chicken and veggies. But I will make this again this summer (maybe even this week) because it’s delicious, it’s healthy, it doesn’t heat up the kitchen and it’s quick to prepare.
I hope you try it sometime soon too.
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Strawberry Tomato Gazpacho
printable recipe here
makes 2-4 servings, depending on size of bowl (and appetites)

1 1/2- 2 cups strawberries (about 1/2 pound), cut in chunks
1 large tomato (about 1/2 pound), roughly chopped
1/2 cup yellow, orange or green bell pepper, roughly chopped
1/4 cup cucumber (peeled and seeded), roughly chopped
1/4 cup red onion, roughly chopped
1/2 of a jalapeno pepper, (take out seeds and ribs unless you like more heat)
juice and zest of 1/2 lime
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 tsp. salt

Place all ingredients in blender. It may be difficult to get going until the strawberries start to become liquid, unless your blender is powerful. To avoid this, you could puree the strawberries first, then add tomatoes and the rest of the ingredients. My blender did not pulverize the almonds totally, so I strained the mixture to get a smoother soup. This is best served a few hours, or even a day or two after making, when all the flavors have had more time to blend.