Photography by Greg Dupree for Sweet July Magazine, Summer 2021 Issue

Grilled Shrimp and Garden Gazpacho

By Sweet July

The weather is warming up so it’s time to break out some of our favorite hot weather dishes. Our gazpacho is summer in a bowl, and serves as the star of our Sweet Summer Nights menu you’ll be serving on repeat.

Serves: 6

Time: 30 minutes, plus chilling

To make the gazpacho is to quite simply add the ingredients into a food processor, pulse and chill.

Yes, you heard that right—which makes this a great make-ahead option for a dinner party or a casual weeknight when you don’t feel like cooking. The garden gazpacho is a fantastic vegetarian option, but the charred shrimp really are a great complement and cook up in mere minutes if you feel like adding some protein. This dish is deceivingly simple but packed with layers and layers of flavor.

Ingredients

- 1 lb ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped (3 cups)
- 1 cup chopped sweet onion (from 1 <6-ounce> onion)
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp fresh lime juice (from 1 lime)
- 1 tbsp chopped seeded jalapeño (from 1 jalapeño)
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 1/8 tsp black pepper
- 2 garlic cloves
- 8 oz tomatillos, husked, cleaned, and halved
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 8 oz large peeled, deveined shrimp, patted dry
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 tsp black pepper

Instructions

step 1

Prepare the gazpacho: Place tomatoes, onion, oil, lime juice, jalapeño, vinegar, salt, cumin, pepper and garlic in a food processor or blender; process until mostly smooth, 15 to 20 seconds, stopping to scrape downsides of bowl if needed. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; cover and refrigerate until cold, at least 2 hours or up to 8 hours.

step 2

Rinse food processor bowl and wipe dry; add tomatillos, and pulse until finely chopped, 6 to 8 pulses. Set aside.

step 3

Prepare the shrimp: Place all the ingredients into a medium bowl; toss to coat shrimp evenly. Preheat a grill pan over medium-high. Add shrimp; cook until just opaque and grill marks appear, 1 to 2 minutes per side.