Simple Summer Gazpacho with Peach and Raspberry

There is little I love more than summer tomatoes. And, in warm weather, I find cold soups the most refreshing. The delightful flavors of ripe tomatoes and peaches with the raspberries play off of one another brilliantly and leave the door open for different spice options. Here I chose balsamic, but this is also wonderful spiced with jalapeños and cilantro. Every time I make this, we find ourselves wanting to lick the bowls (I have to admit, we sometimes do). I finally noted quantities and am delighted to share this with you here! And, please, as always, adjust quantities and ingredients to suit your taste. There is no making a mistake here. As with everything, the quality of the ingredients you choose will shine through and make this dish special. Everything here may be found at summer farmers markets in your area. This is also a great use for peaches which may be passed their eating out of hand prime.

I am not able to eat raw onion or garlic, so these two ingredients are glaring omissions for a gazpacho recipe. Please go ahead and add them if you like. If you don’t have a food mill, press the raspberries through a sieve to remove the seeds.  

One thing to note, if you process more raspberries than you need, the extra “purée” is delicious added to an aqua fresca with a touch of simple syrup and a squirt of lemon- the perfect beverage to accompany a summer meal!

You may also remove the seeds from the tomatoes, but this step I frequently skip. 

Summer Gazpacho with Peach and Raspberry  

serves 2 large bowls

Ingredients- 

6 oz (1/2 dry pint) organic raspberries 

1 lb organic tomatoes (very ripe best) 

1/2 cup chopped seedless cucumber or, chopped cucumber which has seeds removed.  

1/2 large peach (about 4 oz), pit an skin removed (you may increase this to taste)

1 clove garlic confit (minced fresh if you prefer)

2 Tbs extra virgin olive oil

2 tsps balsamic vinegar (you may substitute sherry vinegar, red wine vinegar, even jalapeño pickle juice) 

flaky sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

 Method-

1- Run raspberries through a food mill or sieve to remove seeds and measure a scant 1/4 cup of the purée.

Reserve the remaining for agua fresca or anything raspberry treat of your choosing. 

2- Rough chop tomatoes and peach and place in a high speed blender with 1/4 cup raspberry purée  all ingredients and blend until a smooth texture is achieved. 

3- Place in an airtight glass container and refrigerate for 1 hour or more. Serve with garnishes of choice and enjoy!