Gazpacho....mmmmm

Because tomatoes, onions and cukes are in season right now, I'll be shopping for gazpacho ingredients at the Farmers' Market in the morning. This cold soup, with a loaf of good bread and some cheese, makes a meal on those nights when it is too hot to cook. Like right now, for example. I can't imagine turning on the stove or oven right now. Gazpacho is refreshing.

I've been using this Gourmet magazine recipe for years. My "adjustments" are listed below.

3 1/2 cups (or more) tomato juice
8 plum tomatoes (about 18 ounces), seeded, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
1 English hothouse cucumber, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 7 ounces)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch pieces (about 1 cup)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 green onion, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons minced seeded jalapeño chili
2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine 1 cup tomato juice, half of tomatoes, half of cucumber, and half of bell pepper in blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into large bowl. Stir in remaining tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper; add onion, cilantro, parsley, lemon juice, green onion, jalapeño, and garlic. Transfer 1 cup mixture to blender. Add 2 1/2 cups tomato juice to blender and puree. Pour back into large bowl and stir to combine. Thin with additional tomato juice, if desired. Season with salt and pepper. Cover; chill 2 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)

Serve cold.

Makes 6 to 8 first-course servings.

Melanie says: it is too bland without a lot more garlic (double it) and a dash of Tabasco. I like this soup a little more crude, so I make it in a food processor on steel knife. In different parts of Spain, I've had it as smooth as V8 juice in some regions and nearly as raw as a salad in some others. What I'm looking for is a smooth background with some chunky vegetables in the foreground. This is better made a day ahead of serving, the flavors marry beautifully with a day in the fridge. I recommend a healthy teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce, as well. The recipe works without the parsley but can't survive without the cilantro.

You can make this soup to completely different effect with yellow tomatoes, as I had it served once in northern Spain. They give the soup a sweeter background and you can play with some of the other vegetables against that background. Green bell peppers, better than red, for example, and a sweet red onion instead of green.