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Tomato gazpacho with crispy falafel chickpeas recipe! Cold, refreshing, vegan friendly, gluten free. The perfect summer meal!
Hello! This post was originally published in August 2015. I’ve updated some things and thought you might want to see it’s pretty face again. Enjoy!
Hey friends! Here we are, with my first SUMMER recipe comin atcha. Tomatoes are one of my absolute favorite things about summer, specifically heirloom tomatoes. Gazpacho is a cold soup made from raw, pureed fruits or vegetables, and tomatoes are perfect for an easy, summery version of the soup.
This tomato gazpacho with crispy falafel chickpeas is like eating a summery bowl of Mediterranean goodness! The crispy chickpeas are really where it’s at here. I thought they tasted JUST like little crispy falafel bites. YUM! The gazpacho is really simple and refreshing, the yogurt is really garlicky and minty, and the chickpeas are heavily spiced and tahini-y. Yes yes. Delicious amiright?
I love that this recipe is really healthy and light, perfect for a warm summer night. It’s loaded with fresh vegetables, and has lots of protein from the falafel chickpeas and the yogurt.
A few things to note about this gazpacho recipe:
- You will need a high speed blender. You’re blending up some seriously crunchy veggies, so the consistency will be at it’s best if you have a Vitamix or something similar.
- I used cow’s milk yogurt, but you could easily use dairy free yogurt to make this vegan. You do you!
- Any variety of tomato will work, but my favorite is very ripe heirlooms.
Tomato gazpacho with crispy falafel chickpeas recipe! Cold, refreshing, vegan friendly, gluten free. The perfect summer meal!
- 1 16oz can chickpeas. Rinsed and patted dry
- 1 Tbsp tahini
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp ground coriander
- 1 Tbsp ground cumin
- salt and pepper
- 3 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 english cucumber, roughly chopped
- 1 red bell pepper, seeded and roughly chopped
- 1/4 small sweet onion
- 6oz yogurt of your choice (vegan if desired)
- 2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves, minced
- 1 clove garlic, pressed
- 2 Tbsp water
- 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
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Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper for easy clean up (optional).
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Toss the chickpeas in the tahini, oil, coriander, and cumin. Season with salt and pepper. Spread evenly on the parchment paper and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until chickpeas are crisp. Let cool.
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Meanwhile, hull tomatoes and score a large X in the bottom of each one. bring 6 cups water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Prepare an ice bath large enough for the tomatoes. Drop tomatoes into boiling water, and blanche for 30 seconds, or until skin starts to peel. Remove tomatoes and plunge into ice bath. Peel skin, and cut into quarters.
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Puree tomatoes in a blender. Add cucumber, bell pepper, and onion and blend well. Season with salt and pepper. Refrigerate.
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Meanwhile, combine yogurt, mint, garlic, and water in a small bowl. Stir well. Season with salt and pepper.
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To serve, divide gazpacho evenly among 4 small bowls. Drizzle a bit of yogurt, then top with cherry tomatoes and crispy chickpeas.
I hope you try out this recipe! Don’t forget to tag #Rhubarbarians on Instagram if you do!
Trish
P.S. Want to see what I’m cooking up this week? Check out my Instagram stories! And don’t forget to join my FaceBook community of vegetarian cooks!
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Patricia Bozeman is a cook. A whiskey lover. A dreamer. A wine-o. A tea drinker. A dog lover. A wife. An extrovert with a dash of social anxiety. A Jeopardy watcher. A dress wearer (because she's a lady, duh). A crass and slightly deaf old woman inside of a 33 year old body. 
OMG!! YES!! Cold soup is eeexactly what I’d love to have for dinner now. In Montreal we have like 10,000 degrees and I’m hungry for something cool like this!
Thanks Lorena! The weather has been turning a bit already here. We went from 90+ degrees to about high 60s. Now I’m craving soup and pumpking recipes!
Oh wow! Today we had heat warning because it was so hot and right now at 1 a.m. we still have 77 and 74% humidity (!) I’m not moving, just sitting here with my computer and sweating like crazy. I won’t complain though, the Quebecois winter is just around the corner and I’m dreading it already :S
I have an arsenal of tomoatoes from my garden and now I know exactly what to do with them! Gorgeous photos, Tricia!
Thank you so much! Hopefully you have a better blender than me. Haha!
Those falafel chickpeas are genius!!! Can’t wait to try this cuz I’m also swimming in tomatoes.
Thanks Christine! Let me know what you think!
Holy Tahini Batman! Those falafel chickpeas are brilliant. I’m SO trying those.
Thanks Beth! Let me know how you like them!
This looks so divine! I love the idea of tossing the chickpeas with tahini in addition to the olive oil to really bump up that falafel flavor. Delicious pictures!
Thanks Emily! I love adding crispy chickpeas to EVERYTHING!
Could this recipe BE more perfect for this time of the year?! I think NOT!
Haha! Thank you! The cold soups ARE perfect for hot days. 🙂
That looks perfect for a hot summer day! I love soups like this and since I just got myself a high speed blender it seems perfect to try out.
Yay! Let me know how it goes! Someday, I’ll get myself a Vitamix and this soup will be even better. 🙂