Gazpacho with Spanish Style Bread

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This is my version of two Spanish classics.  We enjoyed both.  I cooked the onions and bell peppers and then processed everything to a coarse consistency.  Otherwise, this just tastes like less salty V-8 and that is not what I wanted.

You can process this as much as you like, it is up to you, but you will need to allow time for everything to chill, which is at least 2 hours.  Wait to grill the bread until just before serving the soup, unless you are eating it as an appetizer.

I love bread prepared in this manner.  It was part of the first meal that I had when I visited Spain.  It took me a while to realize that the bread had been rubbed with tomato.  The amount of juice from the tomato did not make the bread soggy, it was just lightly rubbed and added a hint of flavor.  Reserve a couple of slices of tomato to rub the bread.

Ingredients

For the Soup

2 extremely large Salad Tomatoes, peeled and sliced into 8 wedges each (any type of tomato can be used but these are just easier to peel, this made about 3 cups of sliced tomatoes)
2 large Cucumbers, peeled and sliced
1 large Onion, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 large Red Bell Peppers, coarsely chopped
2 Tablespoons of minced Garlic, divided
1 Tablespoon of Sepay Groves Olive Oil
Salt and Pepper

For Grilled Bread
Sepay Groves Olive Oil
Cut Garlic Clove
2 wedges of the Tomatoes

Directions

For the soup

1. Heat 1 Tablespoon of olive oil in a large skillet, add onion, bell pepper, and 1 Tablespoon of Garlic. Cook until onion starts to caramelize.  Remove from heat
2. Place tomatoes, cucumbers, 1 Tablespoon of garlic, and the cooked onion, bell pepper, garlic mixture in a food processor.  Blend to desired consistency.  Transfer to a bowl.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if needed. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

For the Bread
3.Heat a griddle or a large pan to 375 degrees.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil and rub with cut garlic clove.  Grill until bread is toasty and browned.  Remove from heat and rub lightly with reserved tomato wedges.  Serve immediately with Gazpacho.  Yum!

Enjoy!

Deloris

PS: if this looks wierd my computer is acting up :(