IF YOU have never made gazpacho, the cold Spanish soup, I suggest you try it. Here is a great way to use summer produce that involves no cooking. This recipe is from one of my favorite small cookbooks, Cold Cuisine, by Helen Hecht.

Gazpacho

1 garlic clove
2 T.parsley sprigs
2 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
1 medium sweet green pepper
2 or 3 scallions
1 medium cucumber.peeled and chopped coarse2 T. chopped fresh basil
2 ½ cups tomato juice
2 ½ T. olive oil
3 T. red wine vinegar
salt
fresh pepper
Tabasco sauce

Mince the garlic and parsely in a food processor or blender. Add the chopped tomatoes, green pepper, scallions, cucumber and basil to the work bowl.With the motor running, add some of the tomato juice in a stream (don’t let the bowl overflow), processing until the vegetables are chopped fine but not pureed. (Alternately you can chop them by hand and add them to juice.) The consistency of the soup should be thick and coarse. Turn into a mixing bowl, add remaining juice, oil, vinegar, and seasonings to taste. Chill.

You can serve this with large croutons made out of slices of Italian or French bread (simply toast the bread well) and rubbed with garlic and a bit of olive oil. Place these right in the soup.

Yields six cups.

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