Farm-to-Table: Watermelon Gazpacho + Peach Gazpacho

Gazpacho is a delicious summertime favorite that’s easy to make at home.  Cool, refreshing, tangy, and sweet – it supplies the best of what summer produce has to offer! And here in the Hudson Valley with so many farms selling fresh produce, you have many choices to mix up your gazpacho with some interesting flavors.  Today we’re sharing two different takes on traditional gazpacho that we hope you will enjoy.

Farm-to-Table: Watermelon Gazpacho + Peach Gazpacho

The two recipes below were adapted from gazpacho recipe versions found in Clarita’s Cocina cookbook and Cook’s Magazine.

Watermelon Gazpacho

For the watermelon gazpacho recipe below, we used tomatoes from Saunderskill Farms, and garlic and red pepper from Davenport Farms. Because it’s in season, we used watermelon instead of sugar for this gazpacho. It adds a mild sweetness that compliments the tomatoes well.

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 large tomatoes
2 cucumbers
1 red onion
3 cloves of garlic
1 jalapeno (no seeds)
1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs
1 red pepper
2-3 cups of chopped watermelon, and a few extra pieces for garnish
1 cup olive oil
2 cups vegetable broth
a few shakes of paprika

Cut up the tomatoes and the cucumbers and place them in a bowl with salt to help bring out the juices. Then add the breadcrumbs to absorb the liquid.

Add in chopped watermelon, red onion, garlic, red pepper, and two cups of vegetable broth and let sit.

Add to blender in small batches. As each batch is blending drizzle olive oil so it blends and emulsifies to create a light gazpacho.

Blend each batch for about 30 seconds. The mixture should be well blended but retain some texture. Pour into a large pitcher or bowl, and refrigerate at least 2 hours or overnight before serving.

Serve in bowls, and garnish each bowl with a couple of chunks of the retained watermelon.

Peach Gazpacho

We used peaches from Jenkins-Luken Orchards for the gazpacho recipe below. The tomatoes and basil came from Ravenwood.

Here’s what you’ll need:

6 peaches  (we used 3 yellow and 3 white but either variety is fine)
1 cucumber, peeled
1/2 red onion
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper  (orange or yellow would be better if you have them)
1 yellow heirloom tomato
a handful of basil
1 lemon
Splash of wine or champagne vinegar
approximately 1.5 cups of water