- 8 thick slices of French or Italian bread, cubed
- 2 1/2-3 pounds very ripe tomatoes
- 1 English (seedless) cucumber
- 1 large red onion
- 2 bell peppers, red, orange or yellow
- 2-3 garlic cloves
- 2 to 3+ T red wine or sherry vinegar
- 1-2 c tomato juice
- kosher salt
- extra-virgin olive oil
Chop up all the vegetables into a large dice, about 1″. Place in a large bowl along with the bread, minced garlic, and tomato juice. Drizzle with olive oil and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Allow to sit for 2 hours mixing every half hour.
Working in batches, puree the mixture in a blender with the vinegar. Blend in more tomato juice to loosen the mixture, if needed. Remove soup to a large bowl and stir in about 1/4 cup of good extra virgin olive oil. Taste for salt and acidity and add more salt or vinegar if needed.
Chill for several hours.
When serving, drizzle a little olive oil and vinegar, and add fresh cracked black pepper to each bowl. Optional garnish: finely diced cucumber, bell pepper, and onion.
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