Gaviota Gazpacho

By Nancy Eisman

Here’s a California twist on a classic dish from Spain that you’re going to love. Gazpacho is a cold soup traditionally made of raw vegetables, originating from the Andalusia region of Spain. While ingredients and textures vary regionally, tomato, cucumber, bell pepper, onion, olive oil, wine vinegar, and stale bread are staples.

Instead of a tomato-based gazpacho I decided to use strawberries and a few other swaps to create this sweet and savory Spanish-inspired sipper. Not just any old strawberries would do, so I turned to our friends at Harry’s Berries to supply the perfect, intense strawberry flavor that only berries from Harry’s can do.

A California family farm established in 1967, on the edge of the Oxnard plain, along the banks of the Santa Clara river, Harry’s Berries grows only the most premium quality of special variety strawberries. The family follows organic practices and their very highly prized strawberries are picked full-color at the perfect degree of ripeness. If you’ve given up on strawberries tasting like strawberries, you must seek out Harry’s Berries. They’re the real deal.

Since this is a sweet and savory recipe, I replaced the cucumber with melon, used shallots instead of onion, subbed the green bell pepper for jalapeño and Melissa’s Veggie Sweet Peppers, and swapped out the wine vinegar for raspberry balsamic (even more berry flavor).

The perfect time to make and enjoy this recipe is in the middle of summer, but it’s so delicious that you’ll want to enjoy it anytime of year. Try it this way starring strawberries, whip up the classic version with tomatoes another time, and have fun playing around with other ingredients – watermelon, grapes, nuts, etc. – when you’re craving something super refreshing and flavorful.

Thanks to Harry’s Berries for your amazing strawberries. And thanks Spain for your fabulous cold soup.

P.S. Love your tapas too!

Harry’s Berries Strawberry Gazpacho

Ingredients:

1 16 ounce package Harry’s Berries, diced (reserve a few whole berries for the side of the glasses)
1½ cups Golden Dewlicious Melon, diced
3 Jalapeño Peppers, diced
4 Veggie Sweet Peppers, diced
½ cup Shallots, diced
⅓ cup Fresh Mint, chopped
1 Lime, juiced
⅓ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
⅓ cup Raspberry Balsamic Vinegar
Sea Salt and Fresh Black Pepper

Directions:

1. Reserve about ⅓ of the ingredients and set aside for garnishes.
2. Add the remaining ingredients to a blender and process until pureed but with some remaining texture. If mixture is thicker than you want, add 2-3 ice cubes and process again. Taste and adjust balance with more of any ingredient, and then add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Pour the gazpacho into clear glasses, garnish each serving with the ingredients that were set aside, put 1 whole strawberry on the side of each glass, and serve.
4. If you want to make this ahead of time, the gazpacho can be refrigerated for a few hours before serving.

Optional: Traditional gazpacho is made with stale bread, and some gazpachos are garnished with croutons. For this recipe, cut corn bread into cubes and toast for a sweet twist.