Indian Stype Gazpacho+ Spanish Brushetta

For those of you who do not know what gazpacho is, it is basically cold Spanish soup. I had never heard of it before until I tried it for the first time when we were on our honeymoon in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. It was really good, so here's to a walk down memory lane ...

4 tomatoes, chopped
1 red onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 carrot, diced
1 stalk of celery, chopped (I didn't have so didn't add!)
1 cucumber, chopped
2 jalapenos
2 red chillies
6 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
1/2 cup tomato paste
4-5 cups water
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste
1 3/4 cup red wine (I didn't have either so I added a little vinegar instead)

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl. Stir well.
2. Using a hand blender, puree only a part of the mixture.
3. Chill for a few hours before serving.
4. When ready to eat, top with bread croutons and/or dollop of sour cream and/or chopped tomatoes,onions, cucumbers and bell peppers.
5. You can also eat with tortilla chips, but I made a tapa-like Spanish brushetta to eat on the side

For the Brushetta:

Few tbsp of olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tomato, finely chopped
1 garlic clove
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1/3 cup robust red wine (I didnt have so added a little vinegar)
Juice of 1 lemon
Salt to taste
Fresh ground black pepper
Handful of chopped cilantro
Handful of kalamata olives, chopped

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Add the onions and sautee until golden brown.
2. Next add the garlic, green chilli and salt and stir fry for another minute.
3. Add the red wine/vinegar and increase the heat to high, stirring until all the liquid is gone.
4. Then add lemon juice and cilantro and cook for another minute. REmove from heat.
5. SEason with salt and black pepper if needed.
6. Serve on toasted crusty bread spread with cheese and topped with sauteed veggies.