cooking / soups

Cold Tomato-Strawberry Gazpacho

A bright, strawberry-forward chilled gazpacho. Blend, balance, chill. Great use for berries about to turn.

serves ~1.5 quarts (4 starters / 2 light meals) · easy

Ingredients

  • 16 oz strawberries, hulled (full pound — strawberry-forward version)
  • ~2 lb tomatoes, cored & chopped — heirloom + cherry/Flavor Bomb (bump tomato up to balance the full pound of berries)
  • 1 medium cucumber, peeled & chopped
  • ½–1 bell pepper (red/orange), chopped — savory body
  • 1 small garlic clove (start small — raw garlic grows in the blend)
  • optional ¼ shallot
  • 2–3 Tbsp EVOO (Muraglia Fruttato Medio)
  • 1½–2 Tbsp vinegar — ACV (keeps color bright) or a splash of aged balsamic for depth; more than a plain gazpacho to offset the berry sweetness
  • Squeeze of lime + salt, generously
  • pinch smoked paprika + cracked black pepper

If short on fresh tomatoes:

  • Best stretcher: thaw ~½–1 cup frozen "Liquid Gold" heirloom tomato sauce (freezer) — real tomato; it's cooked + seasoned, so go easy on salt.
  • Booster only: 1–2 Tbsp tomato paste to deepen color/umami — not a bulk substitute (concentrated, cooked-tasting).

Method

  1. Blend everything until smooth (or leave a little texture). Strain through a coarse sieve for silky texture + to remove strawberry seeds.
  2. Taste and correct aggressively toward savory: salt → acid (vinegar/lime) → more tomato, until it reads like a bright fruity soup, not a smoothie. The bell pepper, garlic, EVOO, and salt pull it back from sweet.
  3. Chill hard, 1–2 hrs minimum — gazpacho must be cold, and flavors meld as it rests. Make ahead.

Serve

Cold, garnished with diced cucumber + strawberry, a drizzle of Muraglia Lemon EVOO, cracked pepper, torn herbs (parsley; no basil needed).