It is the height of the tomato season and what a season it is!
My farmer’s market has a great selection of heirloom varieties and I’ve been delving into some of the interesting versions of Gazpacho. (We’ve featured Gazpacho before on Blue Cayenne– here and here and they are both wonderful recipes. See them pictured below.)
This recipe, a Melissa Clark recipe from her book Dinner in French, caught our attention because it features watermelon. The watermelon gives the Gazpacho a hint of sweetness and a very pretty color. We can’t recommend this recipe highly enough.
Here is the recipe as I prepared it in my kitchen.
Watermelon-Tomato Gazpacho
July 16, 2025
Ingredients
- 2 pounds ripe tomatoes (I used heirlooms, cored and cut into chunks)
- 2 C. watermelon (cubed)
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper (seeded)
- 1 large shallot (sliced)
- 1 garlic clove (sliced)
- 3 T. chopped fresh basil
- 1 3/4 t. sea salt (more to taste)
- 1 t. sherry vinegar (more to taste)
- 2 t. fresh mint leaves (chopped)
- 1/3 C. plus 3 T. extra-virgin olive oil
- Finely chopped cucumber and red onion for garnish
- Slices of cucumber and lemon for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
Directions
- Step 1 Combine tomatoes, watermelon, jalapeno, shallot, and garlic in a blender and blend until smooth.
- Step 2 Add basil, salt, vinegar and mint to the pureed tomato mixture. Blend to combine.
- Step 3 Drizzle 1/3 C. olive oil into the puree and blend until the mixture is emulsified.
- Step 4 Strain the soup through a seive. Chill for at least 4 hours or overnight. Before serving, add some finely chopped cucumber and red onion to the gazpacho for flavor and texture. Adjust the salt and vinegar to your taste. Drizzle a bit of extra-virgin olive oil over each serving. Serve and enjoy.
