CHILLED GASPACHO

Gazpacho soup today is basically known as a chilled tomato soup,but it is started out as traditional peasant soup from Portugal and Spain where it was a simple bread soup or stew, and back then it was all about the bread and not the tomatoes and peppers. Skipping the bread is actually not a bad thing if you are watching your weight,because the soup itself has tons of lovely vegetables it. So the choice is yours although I feel that the addition of the bread really makes the soup.

The recipe is basic and very easy to make and another lovely addition to any summer meal or BBQ. It needs to be chilled and I like to chill the plates also, but another thing this recipe has going for it , besides the flavour, is that you can make it a day ahead which all helps in marinating all the flavours together.

INGREDIENTS

1. 
   
   8 medium ripe Roma tomatoes
2. 
   
   1 green bell pepper seeded
3. 
   
   1 red bell pepper seeded
4. 
   
   1 slice of day old bread
5. 
   
   1 cucumber
6. 
   
   1 med. onion
7. 
   
   2 cloves garlic 
8. 
   
   1/4 cup olive oil
9. 
   
   2 T. red wine vinegar
10. 
    
    1/2 tsp. dill weed
11. 
    
    1/2 tsp.celery salt
12. 
    
    salt/pepper
13. 
    
    Dash of Worcestershire sauce
14. 
    
    dash of tobacco sauce(optional)

(If soup is too thick for your taste you can add some tomato or vegetable juice or a vegetable broth to make it a consistency that you prefer, should it be too liquidy you can add more bread or some tomato paste to thicken it.)

PREP

1.Roughly chop all vegetables

2.mince garlic

3.Tear bread into chunks

4.Add every ingredient to food processor and puree.

5.Do not over process , you may want to do this in batches.

6.Fresh herbs such as Parsley and cilantro make a nice addition.

7.Can be garnished with avocado slices or a large shrimp.

Chill and serve ( makes 8 generous servings)