Gemma's Gazpacho

Friday I tried another recipe from my coworker Gemma at our Barcelona office. Her sangria de cava recipe was so good, I knew that her gazpacho would be great! The recipe is actually her mom's recipe, which, as Gemma says, is always the best! Her original instructions called to blend the vegetables, then take the leftover chunks and blend again, but my blender (KitchenAid) was powerful enough to blend the veggies into a smooth liquid on the first try. Hooray for KitchenAid!

The gazpacho has a tangy and refreshing flavor from the vinegar, and the olive oil gives it a smoother and rounder flavor. I used locally-grown tomatoes, which are far superior to the cardboard facsimiles you find at the grocery stores. The recipe makes a lot, and it's great to have it in the fridge for hot evenings when it's too hot to cook!

Gazpacho

1 to 1 1/4 pound of dry bread (I used a large grocery store "french loaf.")
4 lb tomatoes
1 green bell pepper, seeds removed
1 red bell pepper, seeds removed
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
6 ounces olive oil
6 ounces red wine vinegar

Tear the bread up with your hands and place in a large bowl. Pour in enough water to just cover the bread so that the bread gets so soggy you can't pick it up without it falling apart.

Blend up all the vegetables in a blender until they are a smooth liquid (this took me about 3 or 4 batches). Pour into a large bowl or pot. Blend up the bread and water until it is perfectly smooth and add to the pot. Stir in the oil and vinegar. Season with salt to taste.

Place soup in the fridge until it is very cold; serve with small pieces of onion or pepper on top or with fried or toasted bread.