Spanish Gazpacho

Yield: 4-5 servings
Time: Active time: 10 minutes   Inactive time: 6 hours

Ingredients:
Soup Ingredients:
1½ cups of good quality store bought tomato juice (See note)
4-5 tablespoons of good quality extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons of good quality red wine vinegar
4 ripe small-medium sized tomatoes
½ cup red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
¼ cup green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
¼ cup spring onions greens and whites, chopped
¼ cup cucumber, skinned, seeded and chopped
½ cup celery, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced
½ -1 jalapeño, seeded (See note)
Salt and pepper to taste
½ cup of ice cubes

Garnish Ingredients:
2 tablespoons green bell pepper, finely diced
2 tablespoons spring onions, finely chopped
2 tablespoons celery, finely chopped
2 tablespoons cucumber, seeded and finely chopped

Notes:

• Since the quality of tomatoes varies year round the store bought tomato juice brings a level on consistency to the soup year round.
• The spice level of every jalapeno varies. Start with ½ a jalapeño and taste the soup. If you need more heat add the rest of the jalapeño.

Method:

1. Place all the soup ingredients into a blender and blend till all the ingredients are liquefied.
2. Remove and store the soup in the fridge of 6-8 hours. This is important as all the flavors will intensify and marry well together during this time.
3. Mix together all the garnish ingredients and refrigerate them.
4. Run this soup through a fine sieve and discard the vegetable puree.
5. Divide the strained soup into bowls, cups or glasses. Garnish each serving with some of the vegetable garnish mixture. Serve chilled. (Optional: Drizzle a little extra virgin olive oil on top of each serving for restaurant quality finish)