Early Girl Gazpacho

Ingredients

• 1 lb good red ripe tomatoes (I used Early Girl)
• 1/2 cup roasted red pepper
• 1 (5.5 oz) can tomato juice
• 1 Tbsp Sherry vinegar (substitute any vinegar you like)
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
• 1/2 red onion
• 1 yellow bell pepper
• about an 8 inch piece of seedless cucumber

garnish
• small basil or cilantro leaves
• a few heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
• edible blossoms

Instructions

1. Wash the tomatoes and give them a rough chop. Add half of them to a food processor, along with the roasted red pepper, and process until very smooth. ,Whiz in the tomato juice.
2. Add the rest of the tomatoes and pulse till they are incorporated but not quite as smooth, so you will have a little bit of texture.
3. Season the soup with the vinegar, lemon, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes and remove it to a bowl.
4. Give the onion a rough chop and process it until very finely minced. Stir it into the soup. Cover and refrigerate for several hours, or until ready to serve.
5. When you are ready to serve, give the soup a stir and taste it to adjust the seasonings. It may need more salt, or more lemon, for instance. Then very finely mince the bell pepper and the cucumber.
6. Ladle the soup into small bowls or cups, and put a little pile of the bell peppers and cucumbers in the center of each. Garnish with halved cherry tomatoes, small basil or cilantro leaves, and edible flowers, if you have them. Serve immediately.

*Recipe from [The View from Great Island|http://theviewfromgreatisland.com] All images and content are copyright protected. If you want to use this recipe, please link back to this page.