Ingredients

The following ingredients have 8 Servings
  • 2 shallots (roughly chopped)
  • 1 red onion (peeled and roughly chopped)
  • 1 large seedless cucumber (cut into chunks)
  • 1 medium bulb fennel (trimmed, cored and cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 1 stemmed, seeded and chopped mild Hatch pepper (or 1 stemmed, seeded and chopped jalapeno)
  • 8 large plum tomatoes (cored, seeded and cut into 1-inch pieces)
  • 2 thin slices slightly dry white bread (crust trimmed, ripped into chunks)
  • 1 zucchini (diced small)
  • 1 teaspoon red bell pepper (cored, seeded and diced small)
  • 3 cups tomato or vegetable juice (such as V-8)
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (break out the good stuff for this recipe, plus extra for drizzling)
  • 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
  • Kosher or coarse salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
  • Diced avocado and lime wedges to serve (optional)

Instruction

  • In the bowl of a food processor or in a blender, combine the shallots with the onion, and pulse until finely chopped, but do NOT puree! Turn into a bowl. Place the cucumber, fennel, and hot pepper into the food processor and do the same, then add those to the onion mixture. Then add half of the tomatoes with one slice of the bread, pulse, and turn those into the bowl as well. Finally, pulse the rest of the tomatoes with the remaining slice of bread, add them to the lot, and stir to mix.
  • Scoop one cup of the vegetable mixture back into the food processor, then add the tomato juice, olive oil, and vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Puree the mixture then add it to the bowl, along with the diced zucchini and bell pepper and stir to mix.
  • Check the seasonings. Chill the soup for at least three hours, and up to two days (the longer you let sit in the fridge, the more the flavors meld), and serve quite cold. Stir well before serving, adjust the seasonings as needed, and pass the diced avocado and lime wedges on the side if desired. You may also want to give the portions an final drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.