Keena's Chunky Gazpacho

Keena’s original recipes calls for sherry vinegar but I’ve used red wine vinegar here instead because it’s what we had on hand. I think either will work famously for you. And the finer you chop the vegetables you fold in at the end, the better.

Ingredients

2 pounds fresh tomatoes (about 4 - 5 medium to large), ideally yellow and red

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 - 2 garlic cloves

1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped

½ to ¾ of a red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1 medium cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

2 - 3 tablespoons sherry (or red wine) vinegar

kosher salt, to taste

To top:

1 green bell pepper, seeded and very finely diced

1 large cucumber, peeled, seeded and very finely diced

1 large avocado, finely diced

Instructions

Bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Score an “X” into the bottom of each tomato, and then blanch them until the skin begins to peel back around the “X.” Remove from the water, cool them until they’re not too hot to handle, and then peel. Remove and discard the stems, and cut out the rough spot where the stem attaches. Chop coarsely.

Put the olive oil in a blender, and blend on high speed until frothy. Add the garlic, and process briefly. Add the peppers, cucumber, a couple pinches of salt, and as many tomatoes as will fit comfortably into your blender. Process on high speed, stopping the blender from occasionally to move around the ingredients as needed to allow the blender to run smoothly. (The mixture will be fairly thick until the tomatoes are pureed.) Let the soup process for 1-2 minutes (or as long as you can stand the noise); the longer it goes, the creamier it will be. Add 2 tablespoons of the vinegar and process to incorporate. Taste, and add vinegar and salt as needed.

Fold in additional diced peppers and cucumbers and chill before serving.

Top with diced avocado, and enjoy!