One of the wonderful things to have in Spain during the hot summers is a cool bowl of its famous soup, the gazpacho. The abundance of fantastic vegetables in this country blend together to create a soup of deliciously fresh flavors.There are, of course, many different versions of gazpacho, depending on the region -  there are creamier gazpachos, smooth pureed ones, even stewlike ones. I love vegetables, and personally prefer a heartier / chunkier type of gazpacho, where I become very full on the fresh vegetables in the soup.My version is as follows - the measurements are in the American standard system, but I have put together an approximate conversion chart (in the post below) that should help out metric system users.


Summer Gazpacho

Ingredients:

1 medium cucumber - peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 medium green bell pepper, coarsely chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1/3 cup packed fresh parsley
2 1/2 pounds ripe tomatoes - peeled, seeded, and chopped *
1 cup tomato juice
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced2 teaspoons salt
Optional: 1 fresh jalapeño pepper, seeded and minced

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender, finely chop (but don’t puree) the cucumber and green pepper. Remove to a large bowl.
2. In the processor, finely chop the onion and parsley, and remove to the bowl.
3. Finely chop the tomatoes in the processor, and then remove to the bowl.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients into the bowl and stir very well.
5. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

*Preparing the tomatoes: To peel tomatoes, cut a small X in the bottom of each tomato, taking care to not cut into the flesh. Put the tomatoes one by one into a pot of boiling water - for ripe tomatoes, leave them in for about 15 seconds, for not so ripe ones, about 30 seconds. Lift them out with a sieve and drop them into a bowl of ice water to stop the cooking. With the tip of a knife, the skin should now easily pull off  - if it still sticks, return the tomato to the boiling water for another 10 seconds and try again. To seed a tomato, halve it and run your thumbs along the inside of the cavity to easily remove the seeds.



Additional notes: Gazpacho is best served on the day it is made. But if you are preparing it to eat the following day, be sure to use only half of the jalapeño because the spiciness/heat will increase over time. The soup can be served in chilled bowls along with your favorite kind of bread.