Gazpacho

           ANN ARBOR NEWS GAZPACHO (R3A2 VERSION)
               A Make-Ahead Day-Before Recipe

2 large or 3-4 Roma tomatoes, peeled and seeded (see step 1)
1 large cucumber, peeled (seeded, too, if you want)
1/2 large red onion
1 large red pepper, seeds and membrane removed
2 large stalks celery plus 1 small inner stalk with leaves
2-5 stems parsley, leaves only
46 oz V-8 juice
1/4 c. olive oil
1/3 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp Tabasco, or to taste
1/8 tsp ground black or white pepper
1 T (about 1/3 lemon) fresh lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
Salt to taste (I omit it: the V-8 is salty enough)
Optional Garnish: finely chopped cucumber, red onion, or parsley

1. Prepare the vegetables as indicated. To peel the TOMATOES: combine ~1 c. ice cubes and water in medium bowl to make ~1.5-2 cups ice water. In small saucepan, bring ~4 c. water to a racing boil, add 1 tomato, boil for 30 seconds and remove to ice water bath for 30 seconds. The peel should slip right off. Repeat with the other tomato(es). To seed the TOMATOES and RED PEPPER (and CUCUMBER if you wish), vertically quarter and scoop out seeds, pepper membrane, tomato jelly, etc.

2. Optional: Reserve and refrigerate a small piece of cucumber, onion or parsley to use as a garnish.

3. Have ready a ~4 qt. bowl or pot with a cover. Cut TOMATOES, CUCUMBER, ONION, RED PEPPER, CELERY and PARSLEY into blender-friendly pieces, no dimension more than ~1.5 inches. Put 3/4 c. V-8 JUICE in the blender, add ~2 cups loosely packed vegetable, and puree. Transfer to bowl and repeat until all the remaining juice and vegetables are used. If you have vegetables left over, chop fine and add to bowl.

4. Stir in any remaining V-8 JUICE and all other ingredients: OIL, VINEGAR, TABASCO, GROUND PEPPER, LEMON JUICE, GARLIC, and optional SALT. Chill for 2 hours or more. I chill overnight.

5. Optional: When ready to serve, chop the veg you reserved in step 2, or similar from the fridge, to garnish each serving. It looks pretty but the taste is great without, too.

6. Serve. Refrigerate any leftovers. The soup lasts several days in the fridge, maybe longer but we consume it too fast to know.
             Serves 8-12, maybe more.

7/16/99; 8/8/03; 6/18/11; rev for blog 7/7/18 rjm