Perfect Summer Gazpacho

My Toronto apartment has no air-conditioning which makes cooking in the summer quite uncomfortable. This cold soup is a perfect summer recipe because it keeps my kitchen cool.

The first time I made this soup I was intrigued by the technique of soaking the bread in water but it adds texture to the soup. This recipe is foolproof it turns out perfectly every time I make it. The hardest part is blanching the tomatoes which only takes 5 minutes once you have some experience. You will need to plan ahead as it needs to rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours but don’t let that discourage you from trying it out.

Ingredients:

• 2 slices day – old white bread, crust removed, broken into pieces
• 1 kilo vine ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
• 1 red pepper, seeded, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon superfine sugar
• 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Garnish:

• ½ short cucumber, seeded, finely diced
• ½ red pepper, seeded, finely diced
• ½ green pepper, seeded, finely diced
• ½ red onion, finely diced
• ½ ripe tomato, diced

Serves: 4

Weight Watchers Point Plus: 3 per serving

Directions:

1. Blanch and peel tomatoes using these instructions.
2. Soak the bread in cold water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out any excess liquid. Transfer to a food processor with the tomato, red pepper, garlic, sugar, vinegar and oil, process until well combined and smooth.
3. Season to taste and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Add a little extra red wine vinegar if desired.
4. To make the garnish mix together all the ingredients. When ready to serve ladle the chilled gazpacho into a soup bowl, top with as much garnish as you desire.

Note: the garnish in this picture is missing some of the ingredients in the recipe.