Chilled Tomato Soup with Pepper & Avocado Bruschetta

I seem never to have a bad experience with David Tanis recipes. This recipe appeared in last week's food section along with an article about the banner summer it's been for NJ tomatoes.

The soup could not be easier -- 3 pounds of chopped tomatoes along with some garlic, EVOO, sherry vinegar, and salt and pepper. Let it sit for awhile 15-60 minutes, then put it in a blender or food processor, then through a food mill. If you like your soups chunkier or if you wanted to use this over pasta, you could skip the food mill step. Tanis has you chill the soup, over ice or in the fridge, but we served it at room temperature and it was delicious. A day later I had the leftover soup thoroughly chilled and equally delicious.

About 30 minutes before serving, you make a mix of diced red or yellow or orange peppers (one cup total) with half a cup of diced onion -- add some sherry vinegar and EVOO and salt and pepper to taste and let it sit for a bit.

The recipe then has you place the mixture on toasted bread rubbed with garlic, top with sliced avocado and sprinkle with chopped parsley and chives. Then set the bruschetta in the soup and serve.

We made a few modifications, mostly in the serving rather than the prep.

Soupereasy and I used closer to 4 rather than 3 pounds of tomatoes, a mix of heirloom tomatoes and cherry tomatoes.

Also, we thought the sliced avocado would be cumbersome and messy to eat so we added diced avocado to the pepper-onion mixture before serving. Once the bruschetta was in the soup, we appreciated the prettiness of the dish but it was not that easy to eat. So we took bruschetta out and placed it on a side plate. In either location, it was delicious.

I am planning to serve this again next week for a lunch guest and I think I will, per Soupereasy's suggestion, serve the soup in a wine glass so it can be sipped, with the bruschetta on the side. I'd also like to try this as an appetizer, with the soup in an expresso cup and the pepper topping on a crostini.

I know I'll try variations involving cilantro, and one with balsamic vinegar and basil. A few years back I made Thomas Keller's gazpacho -- I can't remember what cookbook -- and this compares very favorably with that one. A good recipe for summer entertaining.