PENNY'S BEST EVER GAZPACHO

Penny's Best Ever Gazpacho image

Provided by Momginerd

Categories Onions

Time 5h

Yield 1 cup, 6 serving(s)

Number Of Ingredients 19

2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 medium tomatoes, ripe
5 roma tomatoes, ripe
2 medium cucumbers, English, peeled, cut in 1-in pieces
1 large red onion
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and deribbed
1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and deribbed
2 cups tomato juice or 2 cups vegetable juice cocktail
1/4 cup olive oil, extra virgin
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup vodka (optional) or 1/2 cup vermouth (optional)
2 tablespoons lime juice, fresh
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 dashes Tabasco sauce (to taste)
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 tablespoon celery salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper
2 stalks celery, inners, very finely diced
garlic-flavored croutons (optional)

Steps:

Core the 5 medium tomatoes and coarsely chop them. Whiz the garlic in a blender or food processor, add the tomatoes and puree until smooth. Strain the puree into a large non-reactive bowl.
Coarsely chop 1 of the cucumbers, 1/2 of the onion, and 1/2 of the green and red bell peppers. Add the chopped vegetables to the processor (if using a blender, add 1/2 cup of the tomato or vegetable juice as well). Process until liquefied; strain into the large bowl, pressing down with the back of a spoon to extract all liquid.
Add to the bowl the remaining juice, olive oil, red wine vinegar, vodka or vermouth if using, lime juice, Worcestershire, Tabasco, cayenne pepper, celery salt and pepper. Stir well. Cover and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
Finely dice the Roma tomatoes, remaining onion, peppers and cucumber. Add the finly diced celery. Reserve, refrigerated in small mixing bowl.
To serve, ladle soup into chilled individual bowls. Sprinkle with the chopped vegetables and croutons, if using.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 166, Fat 9.7, SaturatedFat 1.4, Sodium 269.2, Carbohydrate 20.3, Fiber 4.3, Sugar 12.1, Protein 3.5