Chilled Gazpacho soup

Chilled Gazpacho soup

Ingredients

• 1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
• 2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
• 4 plum tomatoes (we used 2 large celebrity)
• 1 red onion
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 23 ounces tomato juice or vegetable juice (3 cups)
• 1/4 cup white wine vinegar
• 1/4 cup good olive oil
• 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• avocado and a bunch of cilantro (optional)

                                    

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not over process! You can also hand chop the vegetables. I like doing this because I like a chunkier soup.

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, ,salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. Top with a few sprigs of cilantro and some ripe avocado. I also like a little hot sauce to give it kick. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.