Recipe For A Sit-Down Dinner: Tomato Cucumber Gazpacho

This quick and easy Tomato Cucumber Gazpacho is one of my all time favorite recipes for a sit-down dinner party. Cool and refreshing, this chilled soup requires no stove or oven. How amazing is that! Read on...

Some of you may know that my name Anda is actually short for Andaluza so anything related to Andalusia makes my really giddy and happy. I also love cold soups which is pretty common in Romania where I grew up. So needless to say I love a gazpacho andaluz! It's really hard to mess up a gazpacho and it's really surprising to me that most people don't ever make it. 

Gazpacho is really a great chilled soup to make in the spring and summer, as it's refreshing and light, and helps you cool off on a hot, sunny day. Most importantly, gazpacho is amazing for a sit-down dinner party: easy, quick, delicious and your guests will be really impressed. If you know me, you know I like to impress my guests; it's just part of being a proud hostess I think. So make sure you put it on your dinner party menu!  

My good friend Lavonne from Sage Blue Catering & Events made this Tomato Cucumber Gazpacho for a garden dinner party I was hosting last summer and so I asked her to share the recipe with us.   

INGREDIENTS: (makes 8 small servings if using glasses or tea cups or 6 regular servings) 

• 2.5 lbs very ripe tomatoes, seeded and roughly chopped
• 1.5 seedless cucumber or 1 lb Persian cucumbers, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, top cut off, seeded and chopped
• 1/4 extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
• salt to taste
• 1/2 jalapeno seeded and diced
• 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
• 1 garlic clove

1. Mix everything together in a blender and blend to your desired consistency (I like it really smooth and creamy but a bit chunky is fine too). If it gets too runny or too thick just throw in more tomatoes or a little EVOO and another dash of vinegar.

2. Taste and adjust seasoning, then cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour until well chilled.

3. Before serving, check seasoning again and adjust if needed, and serve in individual rim soup bowls, glasses or better yet, vintage bouillon cups or tea cups. Scroll down for a complete list of the serveware I used here.

4. Garnish with croutons, chopped bacon, herbs, black pepper, veggies and/or cream.

SHOP THE LOOK:

1. For the gazpacho I used these insanely gorgeous Antique Soup Bowls With Handles made in Limoges, France sometime between 1846 and 1920;

2. The floral china plates I used this vintage Lenox China Dinnerware Set For 6. The soft pink azalea floral design is just incredibly lovely and is perfect for both everyday use and special occasions. 

3. I also mixed and matched a few different vintage glasses. I carry a lot of these in my shop because glasses can bring so much class to a dinner table and I find that mixing colored glassware with clear ones just makes your tablescape pop even more. 

CREDITS: 

Dinnerware & Glassware: House of Andaloo

Butler Service: Butler by Lord Wallington

Photographer: Evelyn Molina Photography

Caterer: Sage Blue Catering & Events 

Florist & Event Design: Simply Stazi 

Desserts: Le Parfait paris

Lights: Illuminate Your Night