By Ellen Touart-Grob
Yield: Makes 6 servings
Ingredients
- 3 large ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into eighths (about 4 cups)
- 2 large cucumbers, peeled, seeds removed, and roughly chopped (about 2 cups)
- 1 green bell pepper, roughly chopped (about 1 cup)
- 1 medium onion or 10 scallions, roughly chopped (about 11/4 cups)
- 2 to 3 cups bottled organic tomato juice
- 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
- 1 to 2 cloves garlic, peeled and mashed, or put through a garlic press
- 3 tablespoons (or more) Worcestershire sauce
- Kosher salt and pepper to taste
- Smoked Paprika
- Chipotle pepper or hot pepper sauce, to taste
Optional:
- 1 cup croutons, to garnish
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced herbs (such as basil, thyme, or parsley), chopped
Preparation
- In a food processor or strong blender, pulse the tomatoes until they are blended but still retain some texture, and have no large pieces remaining. Separately process each vegetable and combine them all together in a large bowl. Make sure you do not puree the vegetables.
- Stir in the vinegar, garlic, tomato juice and season to taste with the Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, smoked paprika and chipotle pepper or hot sauce. This soup can take a considerable amount of seasoning. Taste the soup as you add more seasoning – and make sure to use enough salt as it brings out the flavors of the vegetables.
- Cover and chill thoroughly, for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight. Adjust the consistency as desired with additional tomato juice and check the seasonings and add more as necessary. Optional: add chopped herbs. Serve in chilled bowls with thinly sliced cucumber rounds or croutons as garnish.