Instructions: * Note: Or whatever youre in the mood for, but use white with fresh tomatoes so you dont overpower their fresh taste.

Use the blender; first chop up the garlic, then add the cucumbers and green peppers, adding tomato juice as needed to liquify. Finally add the tomatoes and the rest of the juice. If you want elegance, press through a sieve. If youre going for heartiness, just leave it the way it is. Mix in the olive oil, vinegar, and salt. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, pour into bowls and garnish with salad vegetables as you see fit: minced or notched and sliced cucumber; thin green pepper slices; chopped green onions; and/or croutons.

Serve cold as a first course to 4 people.

Comments: A Spanish "pureed salad" that even the fussiest eaters like. I learned it as a "Malagan" gazpacho, but discovered from Seville native Jose Luis Vivas that its much closer to a traditional Andalusian. AND it is ridiculously easy and fast to make.

Soup Tale: In the 1970s Alexis Bespaloff, wine expert, shed light on the slow start this tangy Spanish marvel had in the United States. "Some years ago I dined in an elaborately decorated and expensive restaurant in Atlanta. I was so surprised to see gazpacho on the menu that I ordered it, and this cold soup was beautifully served in a silver tureen, accompanied by minced onions and croutons. As I began to eat the soup, I had the most peculiar impression about its taste, which was later confirmed by a friendly waiter: I was sitting a long way from home, eating canned tomato juice out of a bowl with a spoon."

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