Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho

It’s been hot… really hot! Who wants to turn on the stove or oven? Not us. Best hot weather meal? Gazpacho! It is a house favorite here and we love our tomato gazpacho recipe but we thought adding watermelon would be a fun twist. The watermelon adds a mellow sweetness that is just delicious!

Tomato Watermelon Gazpacho

Ingredients:

4 to 5 medium Summer tomatoes chopped

4 cups diced seedless watermelon

1 or 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

1/2 small red onion chopped

2-3 garlic cloves smashed and chopped

1/3 cup loosely packed basil and mint, plus small leaves for topping

1-2 teaspoons Kosher salt

freshly ground pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra to garnish

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar

Instructions:

Combine chopped tomatoes and watermelon in a blender or food processor and blend until semi-smooth. (We like our gazpacho with some texture so we don’t purée completely.)
Empty out tomato and watermelon mixture into a large bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients to the blender or food processor and blend. I like to split the two so that the watermelon and tomato can have bigger pieces than the cucumber, onion and pepper.
Once processed, combine all in large bowl. Check for salt and pepper and adjust accordingly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill for 2 hrs or more.
After the Gazpacho is chilled, check flavor and add salt, pepper, vinegar or olive oil to taste.
Ladle into bowls and top with your favorites! We like grilled shrimp, red onion, avocado, pistachios, watermelon, feta, roasted tomatoes… anything that sounds good to you!
Enjoy!