Gazpacho with Roasted Peppers

There's nothing quite so summery as a bowl of chilled gazpacho.  This version stands out from the crowd with the addition of chopped roasted bell peppers.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups peeled, seeded, and chopped tomato*
• 1/3 cup finely chopped red onion
• 3 large basil leaves
• 1 minced garlic clove
• 1 cup finely chopped and peeled cucumber, divided
• 1 and 1/2 cups tomato juice
• 1/2 cup finely chopped Roasted Bell Pepper**
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon Annie's Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 teaspoons chopped flat-leaf parsley

1. Combine the tomato, red onion, basil, garlic, and 3/4 cup of the cucumber in a food processor; pulse 5 to 6 times, until coarsely pureed. You'll go from this:

to this:

2. Combine the pureed mixture in a large bowl with the tomato juice, bell peppers, red wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, olive oil, salt, and black pepper, stirring well.  Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours, until the soup is thoroughly chilled.

3. Before serving, sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cucumber and the parsley.  The soup will keep well in the fridge for up to 2 days, but I recommend sprinkling with the parsley just before serving. 

*Peeling tomatoes is a surprisingly simple process: to start, score an X in the bottom of each tomato (start with about 1 and 1/2 pounds for this recipe). Place the tomatoes in a pot of boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute; immediately transfer to a large bowl of ice water, to stop the cooking process. The skins will slip right off at this point. Seed and chop, and proceed with the recipe as directed.

**Since the soup is already red from the tomatoes, any combination of orange, yellow, or green bell peppers will look prettiest.

Nutrition Info:
4 servings (about 1 cup), Calories 72 

Tasting Notes:
Easily one of the best bowls of gazpacho I've ever had.  The perfect mix of chunky and smooth, with wonderful sweetness from the bell peppers to balance the acidity of the vinegar and the saltiness of the tomato juice and Worcestershire. I know it takes extra effort to peel, seed, and chop all those tomatoes, but the results are so worth it; this was just bursting with the freshness of the tomatoes and cukes. Do make it now while summer veggies are at their best.

Rating:
4