Gazpacho

From Katie Lee Joel's THE COMFORT TABLE. I always plant a surplus of tomatoes in my garden and I find myself making all sorts of tomato-based dishes. This gazpacho is one of my summer staples. I serve it for lunch with a salad. I also love to serve it in small tumbler glasses garnished with grilled shrimp for cocktail parties.

1 English cucumber, unpeeled, halved lengthwise and cut into large chunks
2 large tomatoes (such as Big Boy, Beefsteak, or Celebrity)
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, halved, and seeded
1 medium yellow onion, halved
3 cups tomato juice
3 garlic cloves
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Tabasco sauce, optional

In a food processor, combine half of the cucumber, half of the red pepper, half of the onion, one of the tomatoes, and 1 cup of the tomato juice. Puree until smooth. Pour into a large bowl and set aside.

Using the food processor, process the remaining cucumber, tomato, red pepper, onion, and garlic until finely chopped. Add to the large bowl containing the puree. Add the remaining tomato juice, the vinegar, oil, salt, pepper, and Tabasco to taste.

Cover and refrigerate until serving time. I usually make the gazpacho the night before, because the longer it sits, the better it tastes.

YIELD: 4 TO 6 SERVINGS
PREP TIME: 15 MINUTES