There’s something to be said for a big bowl of soup. On a cold winter’s night, nothing warms your bones quite like a bowl of steaming hot soup. In the summer? Not so much. But have you discovered the joys of cold soups? Perfectly refreshing and often packed with nutrients, cold soups are really pretty perfect.
My mom makes a killer gazpacho. And though I’ve been wanting to make my own forever, I keep telling myself I need to wait to get her recipe. But I never do. Maybe because it likely tastes so much better when she makes it. But right when I got my July issue of Martha Stewart Living, I bookmarked the recipe for peach gazpacho and have been thinking about it ever since. Some people think fruit in soup is all crazy, but I say it doesn’t get much better than summer peaches for dinner on a steamy hot day. And that’s hard to argue with, right?
This recipe is delightful for those evenings it’s just too hot to cook. But you know me, and I just love turning my oven on when it’s 95 degrees out (this is sarcasm… But I do it every single time without fail. Which means I must love it). So, I decided to make some garlic bread to go along with my cold soup. And I added some jalapeno to it for a kick that the peaches would immediately calm. Food in harmony I call it.
Peach Gazpacho (serves about 4):
- 1/2- 3/4 C water
- 6 ripe peaches (about 2.5 lbs), peeled, halved, puitted, and cut into chunks
- 1/2 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and cut into chunks
- 1 small garlic clove, minced
- 1 T champagne vinegar, plus more for drizzling (I used white wine vinegar)
- 2 T extra-virgin olive, plus more for drizzling
- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
- 2 T coarsely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (or cilantro)
- Garnish: Finely chopped red bell pepper and Hass avocado
The recipe is really incredibly simple. Which makes it even more suited towards those sweltering nights when you can’t bear to get up off the couch and lug yourself into the kitchen.
Another bonus? Peaches are almost always on sale at the grocery store at this time of year.
I started by peeling and chopping my peaches into chunks.
I also peeled, seeded, and chopped the cucumber and garlic. And threw the 3 in my food processor with 1/2 C water. I added in the vinegar and olive oil, 1/2 t salt and 1/4 t pepper.
And then I pulsed away until the mixture was smooth. Mine was perfect, but if I felt it was too thick, I could have added more water.
I stuck it in the fridge for 2 hours and waited anxiously for dinner time. La la la.
Then I got the soup out of the fridge and seasoned with some more vinegar, salt, and pepper.
I topped with some parsley, chopped red bell pepper, and avocado. And drizzled some more oil on top.
Delicious!! The soup was a bit different than I expected, but maybe it’s because my peaches weren’t super sweet. It actually tasted a bit more strongly of cucumber (which I love!), so if you aren’t a huge fan of cukes, I would use a little less. But I really enjoyed how it had a slight sweetness to it, almost as an afterthought.
And the suggested garnishes were wonderful too.
Can you even believe how easy that was? I’m telling you, with a food processor, anything is possible! This is a must-make for all cold soup lovers this summer! Serve it out by the pool when you have some friends over and they’re sure to go wild. And if you can’t bear a meal without some kind of meat, serve before your main course. Or alongside a nice juicy steak.
By the way, you can keep the soup in the fridge overnight; just don’t add the toppings until you’re ready to serve!
What’s your favorite cold soup?
[Sues]
Oooh that sounds tasty! I’ve been obsessed with Whole Living’s Pineapple Avocado gazpacho.. so refreshing with a kick of heat! http://www.wholeliving.com/photogallery/detox-soups-and-smoothies#slide_7
I have never made gazpacho, which is silly because I love it and I make soup all dang time in the winter. This looks delightful!
That looks fabulous! I’m sure I am going to get peaches tomorrow at my CSA- I will have to try this recipe out. And I love my food processor- my favorite kitchen gadget. I just realized how amazing the shredder attachment is!
now this sounds delicious. I’m not normally a gazpacho fan because I’m not a big cucumber lover, but I bet this is awesome with the sweet peaches!
I think I may have mentioned this on here before but I’ve only had gazpacho once and did not like it…however…I think this peachy version would totally win me over! I love soup…even hot soup in the summer 🙂
I just bought peaches at the farmers’ market today. Now I know what I can do with them! Definitely bookmarking this recipe!
This sounds delicious! I not only love gazpacho, but a good mix of sweet and savory. I can’t wait to try it. I know what I’ll be looking for tomorrow at the farmer’s market.
I love this twist on gazpacho!
What a unique spin on traditional gazpacho! I’ve only had gazpacho once and it reminded me of V8 but I know there are better versions out that I need to try including this one 🙂
Beautiful summer soup! I am a fan of gazpacho, and also love vichyssoise – a cold potato & leek soup.
The peach gazpacho looks delish! I’ve been wanting to try the dried peach stuffed pork from the same article from July’s Martha mag. I just can’t justify cooking a big pork loin when it’s 90 degrees out. I’ll have to wait until early fall!
This soup scares me AND intrigues me at the same time. I’m bookmarking it. Hopefully I’ll have the guts to make it one day 🙂
Good to see you last night, Susie 😀
This looks so refreshing! I just got a nice food processor for my birthday, and I’m dying to use it – this will be a great recipe to break it in with!
i have never seen this done before… I am a big fan of a classic gaspacho… but with peaches? GENIUS!
gorgeous presentation too!
Blog Her 2011! HERE WE COME LOL
Peaches! This looks wonderful. I recently bought a lot of peaches. I’m talking 8 lbs. They were on sale. =) I’ve been looking for the perfect way to use them up. This looks like one.
Thank you.
Cold soup is something I really WANT to like but I just haven’t been able to get into! Maybe this recipe will convert me? It sounds so refreshing! 🙂
This looks so delicious! And peaches are soooo good right now!
This sounds very interesting. I will admit I’ve never been a fan of chilled soups. Perhaps I need to be much more open minded.
Is it crazy that I’ve never had gazpacho before? The thought of cold soup has always scared me. But given the ridiculous hot summer we’ve been having I think I need to expand my culinary horizons!
not a fan of traditional gazpacho, but i think i would love this! maybe next time i don’t eat all my peaches in one sitting… 😉