Gazpacho Salad

I remember really liking my mom’s Gazpacho salad, so that was on the menu recently because of an abundance of tomatoes and cucumbers in the garden. This recipe has been around for many years, a family favorite, and although I have tweaked it a little bit over time, it still holds the memories of mom’s gazpacho salad ☺️.

Remember these? Recipe cards!! I love the treasures that each one of these holds.

When I decided to share the recipe, this meant a little research was in order because I couldn’t have told you what the word gazpacho meant, nor what the history of this salad was all about! As I looked through many different Gazpacho recipes, I did note that the majority I saw held more ingredients than mom’s recipe. Parsley seemed to be a common addition, along with a few other vegetables. The definition of gazpacho is a cold soup made of raw blended vegetables. So, I guess gazpacho salad would just be all of those good yummy vegetables mixed together without pureeing them into a soup! But standby for more recipe ideas, because gazpacho soup sounds fun to try also 😁.

As for my mom - she just kept it simple I guess. And thinking back, she also loved to garden so I would guess she was probably looking at a similar pile of tomatoes and cucumbers that I am looking at, and wondering what to do with them. So you can start with this simple recipe, then if you want to experiment a bit, check out some other recipes and consider adding peppers, celery, radish, or cilantro. All would be good! I did make a few changes from my old hand written recipe card, one onion seemed way too much so that is cut back, and I did add the parsley, it just sounded tasty!

INGREDIENTS -

4 tomatoes, diced (about 3 cups)
2 medium cucumbers, peeled & diced (about 3 cups)
* The number of vegetables may vary depending on their size, the goal is to end up with equal amounts
2 Tbsp minced sweet onion, white or red
1 can black olives, sliced
2 Tbsp minced parsley plus a little for topping
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup champagne vinegar
Juice of one lemon
1-2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Layer the cucumbers, tomatoes, olives and onions in a large bowl, sprinkling a little salt and pepper as you add each vegetable. In a small bowl whisk together the olive oil, vinegar, lemon, garlic, and cumin. Pour the dressing over the vegetables, cover and chill for a few hours before serving.

Sprinkle the remaining minced parsley over the top when you are ready to serve. Enjoy!