To easily blanch tomatoes and prepare for gazpacho: Using a large pot, bring water to a simmer. Cut a shallow “X” in the top and bottom of the tomato and drop in the water for about a minute. The skin will recede just a bit when they are ready. Watch carefully – the tomatoes will taste freshest if removed before they begin to cook. Immediately place in ice water to stop the cooking process. Peel over a strainer in a bowl to catch the juice. Remove the seeds from the flesh of the tomato and reserve the tomato. Push and work the seeds against the strainer to extract the most juice possible. Reserve the juice.

For the texture shown, finely chop (almost to the point of a fine mince,) but do not puree, the tomatoes first, then empty the food processor into your bowl. Then work on the bell pepper, cucumber, onion until broken down into very fine bits. If your food processor isn’t large enough, work in two batches and leave the second in the food processor. Last, add the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic to the veggies in the food processor and give it a final whir or two.

Add each batch as it is finished to a large bowl. Add in the reserved juices from the tomato and either the V8 or tomato juice along with the vinegar, olive oil, and salt. Stir well and refrigerate for at least two hours to blend the flavors.  Serve well chilled; taste and adjust flavorings before serving.

Garnish with additional chopped vegetables, a drizzle of vinegar, olive oil, or croutons.

Notes:

• It is easiest to pulse the tomatoes first, then the harder vegetables. After they are broken down, add the parsley, jalapeno, and garlic to the vegetables because otherwise, it’s too small of an amount to process well without turning them into mush.
• If the processor needs a little help at any time add some of the tomato juice to get things moving and continue to process.
• Do taste and adjust before serving. Gazpacho will taste different after it is chilled. Add more vinegar if needed (not all red wine vinegar is the same) before salt. You will probably find you don’t need as much salt once the vinegar balance is right.)