When it’s summertime and you find gorgeous heirloom tomatoes at the farmers market, what do you dream of making? Here’s an effortless, no-cook recipe that uses all of your fresh-from-the-garden produce, perfect for those heat-wave evenings.

In between not-too-smooth and not-too-chunky, the trick to this gazpacho’s perfect body is the emulsifying combo of oil and vinegar. Serve chilled in icy glasses or bowls and top it off with an herbal, nutty Pistachio Herb Pesto for a vegan meal. Protein lovers could add in poached shrimp to make this summer soup a full meal or serve as an appetizer with grilled bread.

Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho with Pistachio Herb Pesto

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of heirloom tomatoes (I used green zebra and brandywine. The color of your gazpacho may change based on what you use), chopped into 2- inch chunks, seeds removed (just brush them out with your fingertip, don’t squeeze out the juice J )
• 1 sweet bell pepper, or 4 mini sweet bell peppers, stem, seeds and membrane removed, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1 English cucumber, cut into 2-inch chunks, 1/4 cup reserved for garnish
• 1/4 of a red onion, cut into 2-inch chunks
• 1/4 cup of parsley leaves
• 1/2 cup of good quality olive oil…I used organic Spanish olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of Sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
• Freshly ground pepper and sea salt
• About 10 baby heirloom tomatoes, cut into quarters

Instructions

Add the tomatoes, bell peppers, cucumber, red onion and parsley into the bowl of a high-speed blender or a food processor. Securely fasten the lid and blend, starting on low and increasing to high speed, until the mixture is completely smooth, about 2 minutes.

Add the olive oil, vinegar and about 10 cranks of pepper from a grinder and ¼ teaspoon salt. Continue to blend the mixture for about 1 minute, until creamy and emulsified. Taste the gazpacho for seasoning and add more pepper and salt if needed. Put the gazpacho in the refrigerator and chill for at least 2 hours.

When you are ready to serve the gazpacho, divide into chilled glasses or bowls, then top with the reserved cucumber, baby heirloom tomatoes and Pistachio Herb Pesto.

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