This recipe is a quick crowd pleaser during the late summer months. The garnishes can be changed depending on what you have on hand. Just a simple slice of garlic toast works well for this classic chilled soup.

INGREDIENTS

• 2 lb. Red Heirloom Tomatoes
• 2 ea. Garlic Cloves
• ½ ea. Red Bell Pepper
• ½ ea. Fresno Chili (seeds and veins removed)
• 2 ea. Celery Stalks (cleaned and chopped)
• ½ ea. Seedless Cucumber (peeled and chopped)
• ½ ea. Red Onion chopped
• 1 Tbsp. Good Red Wine Vinegar or Sherry Vinegar
• 2 Cups V8 or Tomato juice
• 1 Cup Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 Tbsp. Kosher Salt or Good Sea Salt
• 1 tsp. Fresh Cracked Pepper
  

DIRECTIONS

1. Clean vegetables and start by peeling cucumbers and chopping into ¼ inch rings. Chop bell pepper, Fresno chili, onions, and celery into ½ inch pieces. Take the cores out of tomatoes and ¼ each tomato.
2. Add whole garlic cloves and all chopped ingredients along with tomatoes, V8, vinegar, salt and pepper to blender and blend on high until it is completely smooth. Turn blender off and taste. If needed you can adjust by adding more salt or even spice if you’d like. Once the taste is where you like it blend on high again drizzling the olive oil in slowly until it is gone.
3. Store in a plastic container and hold chilled for 3 to 4 days.
4. Roughly chop 1 cup of Marcona Almonds and toast at 350 degrees for 5 minutes.