Gazpacho - The Best

Inspired by our trip to Spain (and also to be reminded of what it was like to eat food in warm, summer weather) we whipped up a batch of this gazpacho. I'll tell you, of the gazpachos I have had (and there have been a few) this one is my favorite. The key is to play around with the amount of sherry vinegar that goes in. How much you need will depend on the ripeness and acidity of your tomatoes.

One TIP: I blended and strained the batch, which left behind quite a bit of solids in the strainer. I took those solids and reblended them with just a bit of the soup to make that smooth. There was A LOT of flavor packed into those solids. Make sure you blend down and use as much of it as possible in the finished soup. Also, chill this overnight, if possible.

ALSO: I skipped some of the garnishes. It was still great.

FOR THE GAZPACHO
2 lbs. ripe tomatoes (about 10 plum tomatoes)
½ lb. cucumber (about 1 cucumber)
3 ounces green bell pepper (about 1/2 bell pepper)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
¾ cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
FOR THE GARNISH
3 tablespoons Spanish extra-virgin olive oil
1 slice rustic white bread
8 plum tomatoes, with the seeds prepared as "fillets" (see page 40)
12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cucumber, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
4 pearl onions, quartered and pulled apart into segments
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
Sea salt to taste
4 chives, cut into 1-inch-long pieces

Cut out and discard the core at the top of the tomatoes, and chop the tomatoes roughly into quarters. Place in a blender. Peel the cucumber and cut it into chunks. Add them to the blender. Cut the bell pepper in half, and remove and discard the core and the seeds. Chop the pepper into large pieces and place them in the blender. Add the garlic, sherry vinegar, and 1/2 cup of water, and blend until the mixture becomes a thick liquid. The red tomatoes will have turned a wonderful pink color.

Taste for acidity (this will vary with the sweetness of the tomatoes). If it's not balanced enough, add a little more vinegar. Add the olive oil and salt. Reblend.

Then pour the gazpacho through a strainer into a pitcher. Place it in the fridge to cool for at least 30 minutes.

While the gazpacho is chilling, prepare the croutons: Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a small pan over a medium-high flame and fry the bread until golden on both sides, about 2 minutes. Break the bread into small pieces to form 16 croutons, and set aside.

When you are ready to serve the gazpacho, place 4 croutons, 2 "fillets" of tomato seeds, 6 cherry tomato halves, 3 cucumber cubes, and 3 onion segments in each bowl. Add a few drops of the remaining olive oil to each onion segment, and drizzle a little more oil around the bowl. Add a few drops of vinegar to each cucumber cube, and drizzle a little more around the bowl. Sprinkle sea salt on the tomatoes, and sprinkle the chives over all. Pour the chilled gazpacho over the garnish, at the table.