One summer a few years back I fell in love with raw food. I’ve always been a salad girl but I had no idea there were so many delicious and flavorful ways to enjoy raw food. I spent hours and hours reading the (limited) research available on the health benefits of a raw food diet. I spent even more time reading food blogs online, learning new and creative ways to eat raw food. From raw chili to raw cheese to my treasured raw desserts, I was in love! That summer I started teaching raw food cooking classes to my clients and ate a “high raw” diet.

Since that summer I have definitely honed my raw food skills. One vitally important thing I can share from my experience is that really delicious raw food relies heavily on intense fresh flavors! Since much of what we eat in a raw food diet is fresh fruits and vegetables, it is imperative they are at their peak flavor. This is one of the main reasons I love working with Wild Blueberries.

Last summer I had the wonderful experience of visiting the Wild Blueberry barrens in Northern Maine. Not only did I learn a ton about how Wild Blueberries grow, I was also able to see exactly how they are processed. I was amazed to see first-hand the minimal processing that Wild Blueberries go through once they are picked. The intense fresh flavor you get from every bag of Wild Blueberries is the result of them being frozen literally within 24 hours of harvest, when their flavor and antioxidants are at their peak. The flavor of the Wild Blueberries shines through in all of my recipes and I have come to rely on it when developing new dishes.

This classic Gazpacho with Wild Blueberries does not disappoint! It not only celebrates the wonderful abundance of summer produce but it also highlights the freshness and unique flavor of Wild Blueberries.

Another quality I love about Wild Blueberries is that they bring that little something extra to a dish. They blend so easily with almost any food but without overtaking the essence of the dish. Although such an intense flavored berry, their presence in this gazpacho is still subtle and transforms what could be just a bowl of salsa ingredients into a distinguished, refreshing and rather sophisticated dish.

My Wild Blueberry gazpacho recipe does not need to be followed to a tee. You can make it with what you have on hand in your kitchen. Substitute basil for cilantro or use yellow tomatoes instead of red. You can even go traditional, like the Italians, and add some stale bread (or bread crumbs) or use avocado instead of oil.

Gazpacho is one of those easy summer dishes that takes just about 10 minutes from start to finish. It’s also one of those dishes that once you make it you wonder why you haven’t been eating it all summer long!