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This easy Corn and Tomato Gazpacho is a healthy raw soup perfect for a light dinner on hot summer days.
Jump to RecipeHow is it August already? I seemed to blink and now July is gone. Time flies when you’re having fun. I only posted once in July (the Bourbon Cherry Pie with Cocoa Nibs). The rest I spent basking and baking in the company of family and friends.
The second week of July I was busy planning, creating, and cooking for a big dinner party and surprise baby shower. This Corn and Tomato Gazpacho was one of the creations.
Corn and Tomato Gazpacho
It’s perfect to make during a heat wave because it doesn’t require heat at all. All the veggies are marinated raw for 30 minutes to 4 hours and then just blended together until smooth. To add some creaminess and flavor I mixed in pureed butter beans, vegetable broth, and olive oil.
I was out of vegetable broth and decided to try making one with some leftover cobs of corn. It made a slightly sweet broth that adds something extra but it’s not necessary. With how hot it is, just use already made vegetable broth or store bought.
Hotter than Hell Dinner Party
I knew the day of the party was going to be 106 and on a Sunday. My friends and I are old and grown up so we couldn’t start the dinner party at 7 in the evening. People had to go to work the next day and it was still going to be hot as hell.
A week in advanced I started making and freezing food. I had it worked out where I did one or two things each day and I tried to save the tasks that required ovens and stove work for the cooler days.
Most of the stuff I made is either on the blog already or will be soon.
Appetizers
Roasted Cherry Crostini with Goat Cheese and Smoked Turkey. I made sure the goat cheese was made from pasteurized milk and I checked to make sure the smoked turkey was okay for pregnant women.
Hummus. Lots and lots of hummus. I did a big batch of traditional hummus from my favorite recipe on Food52. And then I did two batches of variations, a beetroot hummus with some homemade beet chips and an edamame and wasabi hummus. I’ll have to make those again before I share them here because I just created them on the fly.
Sides and Snacks
Watermelon, Cucumber, and Sweet Onion Salad with Feta. You have to have watermelon on hot days! It’s a rule or something. I served the feta on the side though, both for the pregnant women and the lactose and tolerant people.
Main Dishes
Part of the main meal was this Quinoa Slaw Salad with Honey Jalapeño Dressing and this Citrus, Kale, and Grain Salad. I roasted a bunch of grains on one day, cooked them on another, and assembled the salads the night before.
People could mix and match the two salads with a bunch of grilled summer veggies. I brushed the veggies with a melted butter and black garlic sauce inspired by this Oven Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Black Garlic and Asparagus recipe.
A Black Pepper Coffee Brisket with a Cherry and Stout BBQ sauce made the house smell really good as it cooked in the crockpot all day.
Desserts
Sponge Cake with Rosemary Apricot Compote and Rosemary White Chocolate Buttercream. It will be on the blog sometime soon, I promise.
Beverages
For the pregnant women, I made lemonade from the leftover rosemary apricot compote. I also made white and red sangria.
My favorite way to make sangria now is to marinate the fruit, sugar, and brandy or rum in a bowl for 4 hours. You then just add the wine right before serving. It’s also a great way to make sure you don’t waste wine.
I mixed four different batches of fruit marinade and opened one bottle of red and white wine at a time. When the red or white sangria ran out, I just added a new batch of marinated fruit to the pitcher and poured the wine in.
I was planning to serve a Rosemary Lemon Drop Martini with the cake as well but that didn’t happen. The sangria was plenty of alcohol for a Sunday.
Vacation Time
The very next day I left for Reedsport, Oregon to visit my grandparents. Where I did a lot of crabbing and taking pictures of anything and everything but food.
Well, except for crab. I did an Instagram Story that documented the whole day of crabbing from throwing the pots in, pulling them, sorting the keepers, and preparing the crab to eat. Next week I’ll try to get a post up about how to cook, gut, clean, and pick fresh crab.
Oh and s’mores too. I had to document the awesomeness of campfire s’mores.
Corn and Tomato Gazpacho
Ingredients
Corn Cob Vegetable Broth (Optional)
- 10 cups water
- 3 corn cobs I used leftover cobs from dinner the night before
- 3 small carrots, roughly chopped
- 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped
- 2 green onions, roughly chopped
- 1 onion, roughly chopped
- 1 ear of corn, corn kernels cut off reserve both the corn kernels and the cob to put in the pot
- 1 handful fresh herbs I used a mix of parsley, oregano, thyme, and basil
- 1 teaspoon peppercorns
- pinch of crushed red pepper
- 4 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 whole Serrano pepper (uncut)
Corn and Tomato Gazpacho
- 4 ears of corn, cut off the cob reserve the white milky liquid as well, it will make the gazpacho creamier
- 3 to 3 and a 1/2 cups medley cherry tomatoes, cut in half
- 1/2 a large red onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, pressed
- 3 tablespoons vinegar white wine or sherry vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Himalayan salt
- 2 cups Corn Cob Vegetable Broth
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can butter beans*
- 1/3 cup lime juice
- Morton Kosher Salt, to taste
Instructions
Corn Cob Vegetable Broth
- Combine all the ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer and cook partially covered for 1 hour.
- Take the broth off the heat and let it cool a little before straining. To strain, place a fine mesh sieve over a bowl and pour the broth over it. You should have about 6 cups.
- Transfer the vegetable broth to mason jars and let it come to room temperature before covering and storing in the refrigerator or freezer.
Corn and Tomato Gazpacho
- Combine the corn, halved tomatoes, onion, garlic, vinegar, and salt together in a large bowl and mix together. Let it sit for 30 minutes to 4 hours at room temperature. The longer the mixture sits, the more seasoned it will be.
- Pour into a blender and blend on high speed until smooth. Transfer to a large mixing bowl.
- In the blender, add the broth, olive oil, and beans. Blend on high speed until smooth. Slowly pour into the large mixing bowl along with the corn and tomato mixture.
- Stir in the lime juice and season with salt to taste. Serve cold.
Notes
Nutrition
I need to invite myself over to one of your dinner parties, because I KNOW the food would be to die for delicious! This gazpacho is seriously calling my name! I’m trying to eat ALL the corn and tomatoes while I still can, so this really needs to happen! Cheers, friend!
Right back at you! I still have so many tomatoes in my backyard, they are taking it over. I’ll give you some if you can’t find any!
I love that you took some time off! I peaced out for almost 3 weeks earlier this summer for vacation, and it really was the best thing ever! I fully intend to do that every summer, and maybe for a little bit longer than I did this year.
This soup sounds incredible- I just made a big batch of gazpacho but with cucumber and tomatoes. I’ll have to try it with corn! And your party sounds great- I’ll have to try that if I’ve got a party planned when it’s crazy hot!
You’re so good at still doing a little work though while on vacation or planning it all out so you don’t completely disappear, which is what I do. I’ll be living off gazpacho and other no-bake and raw foods this week because ANOTHER heat wave is here.
This last summer I actually took 3 whole weeks off- I just scheduled out emails for older posts. I think taking a break is totally necessary!!!
This year is flying past like there is no tomorrow. One second it’s January and – bam! – August it is. Gazpacho sounds like the best thing for super hot days, and I love the sound of your smoked Turkey and goat cheese crostini!
Right? I wish it would just slow down. And yes, the smoked Turkey and goat cheese crostini is pretty tasty.
I can totally feel you! The way summer is flying by so quickly. I can hardly pause. That gazpacho looks might good and I love that you added corn. Will make it so creamy.
Yes, it’s almost like adding a non-dairy milk because of the corn milk you get when you cut raw corn on the cob!