When I approached my friend Tonny in the Netherlands about her favorite recipe for Gazpacho - the tomato soup that is served ice cold - she sent me this recipe.  She received it from a Spanish chef, who serves it in his restaurant, "Karlos Arguiñano", in Zarautz, Spain.  Tonny translated the recipe into Dutch, and used Metric measurements.  I in turn made the soup in my own kitchen and translated the recipe into English with Imperial measurements so that all my friends and family enjoy this refreshing soup.

All of the ingredients are readily available and it can be made ahead of time. Delicious Tonny!
 

Cold Gazpacho soup

Topping:
1/4 cup each of red bell pepper, green or yellow bell pepper,
red onion, and cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced into 1/4 inch cubes.
1/2 cup red, ripe tomatoes peeled, seeded, and cut into 1/4 inch dice.
Garlic croutons.
6 to 8 sprigs fresh cilantro as a garnish.

Optional: 4 to 8 large shrimp, peeled, deveined, butterflied,
poached, and chilled.

Prepare topping mixture, put in separate containers,
cover and refrigerate.      

Soup Preparation:

Remove skins from tomatoes and bell pepper by emerging them into boiling water for 30 second,
rinse under cold water, and remove skin and seeds. Peel cucumber and remove seeds, and dice.   Peel and
chop garlic.  Peel and chop onion.                                                     

Transfer to a food processor, and puree vegetables with the breadcrumbs. Strain puree through a
fine sieve or chinoise.
Add pepper, salt and vinegar to taste.
Add as much of the oil as you like.
Return to bowl, cover, and refrigerate soup for at least 2 hours or until soup is very cold.

Serve soup cold with the garnishes in separate little dishes. Place 1 or 2 shrimp on the rim of the soup bowl.

Recipe: Karlos Arguiñano.  Dutch Translation:  Tonny Leeflang. English Translation:  Conny Simonis.