Word of Mouth has a quick recipe this week for those of you who will be shopping the markets. Now is the time to spend outdoors and stay out of the hot kitchen.

Here is an easy recipe for tomato gazpacho that you can whip up in 10 minutes.

Gazpacho is a perfect summer treat to serve in chilled bowls on the deck, and for those of us living in Santa Barbara, the search for quality ingredients couldn’t be easier. Be sure to pick the ripest tomatoes at the market.

Some thicken the cold soup with bread, but I stay away from this to keep it light and use the entire tomato — seeds and all. However, you will want to take out the top core.

If it were up to me I would head to the Saturday Fisherman’s Market on Navy Pier for a few local rock crab claws or spot prawns to make this into a delicious lunch. Click here to read last week’s profile of the market.

Remember when adding your ingredients that the recipe is made for flexibility and you can add more garlic, onion or cucumber to your liking. Sometimes I make an all cucumber or cucumber and melon gazpacho. 

Try this with a crisp Albariño from Spain.

See you next week!

Easy Heirloom Tomato Gazpacho
Enough for six

Heirloom tomatoes — 3 pounds
Cucumbers — 2, peeled and seeded
Shallots or red onion — 1/2 cup, diced
Garlic — 1 to 2 cloves, crushed
Sherry or white wine vinegar — 2 tablespoons, to taste
Salt and cracked black pepper — to taste

For garnish — quality extra virgin olive oil

Optional:

Chilled rock crab meat, cracked claws or chilled prawns
Cucumber
Baby farmer’s market tomatoes

Cut the tomatoes into quarters, peel and seed the cucumbers, and place all of the ingredients into a blender. Puree until mixed and smooth, Add salt, pepper and vinegar to taste. Be sure to taste and season slowly.

Serve immediately in chilled bowls, or allow soup to sit overnight. If you keep overnight, be sure to stir before serving and double check the seasoning.

Garnish with chilled crab or prawns and a splash of olive oil and cracked pepper.

— Chef Joe Hafner writes the weekly Noozhawk column Word of Mouth and can be reached at jhafner@noozhawk.com. Click here for previous columns. The opinions expressed are his own.