My Mom Made this Meal on Alabama’s Hottest Days and It’s Still My Favorite Way to Cool Off

Plus, here's her secret trick that I still use today.

Summers growing up in Birmingham, Alabama could be rather brutal. I remember making a beeline for the pool at the Jewish Community Center as soon as school let out next door (classes lasted well into June). I remember afternoons spent in air-conditioned movie theaters (every birthday party the summer of 1997 was a viewing of Titanic) and trips to the ice cream truck for twenty-five cent cherry popsicles that stuck to my tongue (thanks lactose intolerance!).

Another thing that defined my summers growing up? Mom’s tomato gazpacho. When it was too hot to turn on the stove, she’d blend a batch of this no-cook vegetable soup—the colder the better. Unlike the dish’s origin, my mom is not from Spain. She grew up in Buffalo, New York, and spent her college years in the seventies at Brandeis in Massachusetts. She baked bread from scratch then—this was when dorms had kitchens students could use—and embraced other hippie trends like low-fuss, veggie-forward meals. Gazpacho was one of the dishes that stuck, especially when she moved to Atlanta, then to Kentucky for graduate school, and finally to Alabama to work at UAB (The University of Alabama at Birmingham). A cold soup definitely suited her new, much warmer environment. My sister and I grew to love it too.

The Secret to Mom’s Gazpacho

The best part of Mom’s gazpacho is how simple it is. She’d blend a can of whole tomatoes with a peeled cucumber, a seeded red bell pepper, and some red onion until very smooth. She’d then add a swirl of olive oil and some red wine vinegar, season generously with salt and black pepper, and blend again. She’d pour the soup into bowls and garnish with fresh sliced scallions and the finely chopped peels of the cucumber.

The secret to getting her gazpacho is one I still use today: Either the night before or the morning of, she’d place the unopened can of tomatoes in the fridge to chill. This ensured that the gazpacho was always extra cold when blended. It also meant that I never had to ask what was for dinner if I saw a can of tomatoes in the fridge. The chilled canned tomatoes blend just as easily and don’t dull the flavor of the gazpacho. It’s also incredibly refreshing.

Making Gazpacho My Own

While I still put the can of tomatoes in the fridge when I make gazpacho, I make the recipe my own. I’ll add a little cayenne or hot sauce for kick—or I’ll go the other route and add some fresh watermelon or cantaloupe for sweetness. Other times I’ll add smoked paprika and use fire-roasted canned tomatoes for a little more depth. I’ll add a fistful of fresh basil leaves if I have them, or a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce instead of vinegar for some Bloody Mary vibes. The result is always delicious, though somehow not as good as Mom’s.

What to Serve with Gazpacho

In our house, what to serve with gazpacho was as important as the gazpacho itself. We always had steak salad made with extra steak Mom had grilled or broiled the night before. This kept the meal no-cook, and added some protein without making the meal too heavy. We also always had deviled eggs. The richness of the egg yolks went so well with the cold, bright soup. It was also something my sister and I could take charge of as we got older. We might all be in different parts of the country now—my sister in Chicago, me in Nashville—but we still make this meal. It’s a welcome relief on hot days, and it tastes like home.

Read the original article on All Recipes.