This verdant gazpacho is the perfect no-cook, chilled summer soup, complete with seasoned lump crab

It was common on rainy, wintry school mornings for my mother to pack my lunchbox with one of my favorite lunches: Vegetable soup spooned into my Batman thermos along with packs of oyster crackers and a Rice Crispy Treat. That steamy soup not only made me feel warm and cozy physically, but made me feel loved and cared for, too. 

I can’t remember not loving soup. Maybe it was my finicky appetite, or my nervous stomach when I was young, but soup has always been my favorite comfort meal. So when I was introduced to gazpacho for the first time (as an adult), I assumed I would love it.

But I didn’t love it. Nope, not at all. 

Despite the fact it was July in south-central Alabama and despite knowing gazpacho is cold soup, the taste of it’s not being hot was somehow a problem for me, or more like an affront to my senses. I actually thought it tasted like cold, thinned pasta sauce and did not want a second taste to confirm my supposition. 

In my mind it either needed to be thinner, in a glass over ice and spiked with vodka; or hot and thicker, served over noodles with a hefty bit of salty cheese. I would have been happy had it been unblended and seasoned for salsa, but no, it was evidently soup. Unfortunately, I was a guest at a small, elegant engagement party where there was no escaping it or the eyes of the other’s at the table, who all clearly loved it.  

Want more great food writing and recipes? Subscribe to Salon Food’s newsletter, The Bite.

I spent years after that first taste thinking I simply did not like gazpacho and effectively avoided it. I don’t know if I changed or the gazpacho recipes changed, but over the last few years, I have had several variations that I have enjoyed quite a lot. Most recently a neighbor friend of mine served it as a first course to what turned out to be a brilliant dinner and her gazpacho was spectacular. Needless to say, I have become more adventuresome and gazpacho-friendly.  

I had never heard of nor had green gazpacho until recently when my abundance of avocados, cucumbers, jalapeños and the like were on display a few weeks ago. My friend who is also a chef, Rebecca Barron, suggested I make green gazpacho out of my lovely bounty and then went on to further suggest I serve it topped with seasoned crabmeat.

She didn’t give me exact measurements, but did give me a basic plan and enough direction so that I felt confident and inspired. What resulted was a work of art by yours truly.

I would love to think that just because I made it that it is mine, but I must humbly give credit to Rebecca. I would have never thought to add a green apple or red wine vinegar or dill or numerous other things. She is such a creative genius. She rattled this recipe off in about thirty seconds, like it was nothing — and it is nothing short of the stupendous. 

Hats off to Rebecca! You did it again. This soup is a work of art.