Grilled Vegetable Gazpacho

this is one of my summer favorites. grilling the vegetables beforehand gives this soup an extra flavor boost. this time i made it with yellow instead of red bell pepper. it was tasty but made the soup less red than usual.

Ingredients

3 ripe beefsteak tomatoes, cored and cut in half crosswise (about 3 pounds)
1 onion, quartered, on skewers
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 (1-ounce) piece French bread baguette, cut into 2 slices
1 red bell pepper, quartered and seeded, on skewers
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 cups thinly sliced, quartered English cucumber
1/4 cup minced green onions
3 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

4-6 servings

Directions

1. Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

2. Brush cut sides of tomatoes and onion slices with 1 tablespoon oil. Place bread on grill rack, and grill 1 1/2 minutes on each side or until toasted. Remove from grill. Place peppers on grill rack coated with cooking spray. Grill 8 minutes or until blistered, turning peppers after 4 minutes. Remove peppers from grill. Arrange onion on grill rack; grill for 20 minutes, turning after 10. Arrange tomatoes, cut sides down, on grill rack; grill 10 minutes.

3. Combine 2 tablespoons oil, bread, grilled vegetables, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons juice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, black pepper, and garlic in a blender; process until smooth. Combine the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, cucumber, and remaining ingredients; toss. Ladle about 2/3 cup soup in each of 6 bowls, and top each serving with about 1/3 cup cucumber mixture.

30 minutes