Savoring stories: Flip’s almost famous gazpacho

Do you have a tried-and-true dish that comes with an interesting origin story? If so, we want to hear from you!

I was not able to spend a lot of time with my mother-in-law, Flip (her nickname) Hauptman. She grew up and lived all of her 92 years in and around central New Jersey. I was married to my husband for less than 10 years when she passed away.

Her 5-foot-2-inch frame was deceiving. She was a spitfire! She showed so much love to her family through her constant presence at her granddaughter Lexi’s performances, having her granddaughter Renie cut and style her hair, displaying her son-in-law’s art proudly around the house, babysitting her granddogs Georgie and Max, talking to each of her children on the phone regardless of where they were in the world, talking politics and sharing stories with any group of people — and certainly cooking and creating recipes.

When my husband and I were dating, and he was still living in New Jersey, he would go to his parents’ home every Wednesday to help with things around the house, and sit and chat with them over dinner. Because of my father-in-law’s heart disease, Flip made very health-conscious meals — ending with watermelon for dessert! My husband’s favorite meal was Flip’s gazpacho.

When visiting with her several years prior to her passing, I asked if she would mind sharing the recipe with me. She was very proud of this recipe and was excited to share it. Now I get to share it with you!

This soup is delicious on a hot summer night sitting on the porch after a few mojitos, margaritas or a tall glass of lemonade. The fresh veggies make this recipe vibrant — you could say it tastes like summer!

Ingredients:
Makes 6 to 8 servings
1 large cucumber, peeled, sliced and cut up
1 green bell pepper, seeded and cut up
1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut up
1 large celery rib, cut up
1 large carrot, peeled and cut up
1 medium onion, peeled and cut up
3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut up
2 tomatoes, cut up
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 46-ounce can tomato juice
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Oregano, to taste
Basil, to taste
Olive oil, to taste
Lime, optional

Instructions:
• Combine all ingredients in a food processor.

• Blend, but keep a little chunky.

• Top with lime, olive oil, salt and pepper to serve.

Notes:
1. You can keep some of the vegetables out of the processor to make it a bit chunkier. I like to prepare extra cucumber and throw a few larger pieces into the soup once it is blended.

2. You can vary the amount of any vegetable to your preferences.

3. You may find that you don’t use the entire can of tomato juice. It will depend on how thick you would like the soup.

4. You also can garnish with sour cream. Otherwise, this is a terrific pareve dish. PJC

This recipe is included in Suzan Hauptman’s “The Cabin Cookbook: A collection of cozy recipes when you have all day or just a few minutes,” available on Amazon.com.

Do you have a tried-and-true dish that comes with an interesting origin story? If so, we want to hear from you! Submit recipes along with their backstories to newsdesk@pittsburghjewishchronicle.org, and write “Recipe” in the subject line. Please include a photo of the dish. You may see your submission as part of our column “Savoring Stories”!