Spanish Tomato And Bread Chilled Soup

Ingredients:
2 pounds ripe tomatoes, cored
2 1/2 oz. country style crusty bread
1/2 medium red bell pepper
1 medium garlic clove, smashed and peeled
1 teaspoon white sugar
3 tablespoons Sherry Vinegar, plus more to serve 
Kosher Salt and Ground Black Pepper
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
    plus more to serve.
4 thin slices prosciutto (12 ounces) torn into pieces
4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and quartered (optional)
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

Directions:
In a blender, combine the tomatoes and bell pepper, garlic, sugar, vinegar, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.  Blend on high until completely smooth and no bits remain, about 1 minute.  With the blender running, gradually add 3/4 cup oil.  Transfer to a larg bowl, then taste and season with pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 2 hours or up to 4 hours.

In a blender, combine the tomatoes, bread, bell pepper, garlic, sugar, vinegar 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.  Blend on high until completely smooth and no tomato skins remain about 1 minute.  With the blender running, 
gradually add 3/4 cup oil.  Transfer to a large bowl, then taste and season with salt and pepper.  Cover and refrigerate until well chilled or up to  2 to 4 hours.

While the soup chills, in a 12-inch skillet over medium heat, heat the remaining1 teaspoon oil until shimmering.  Add the prosciutto and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 2 minutes.  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and let cool completely, then roughly chop; set aside.

Taste the soup and season again with salt and pepper.  Ladle it into chilled bowls.   Top with prosciutto, and hard boiled eggs (if using) and parsley. and season with salt and pepper.  Drizzle with a vinegar if desired.

Don't forget to taste the soup for seasoning after chilling, just before serving.  Chilling blunts the favor,  so through the soup may have initially tasted If peak-season, perfectly ripe tomatoes are available, use them in this simple but richly flavored, no-cook chilled soup. Otherwise, Campari or cocktail tomatoes are a good choice, as they are dependably sweet year-round. Excellent results also require high-quality extra-virgin olive oil, so make sure the oil you use does not have bitter or harsh notes. Bread helps thicken the soup and gives it its creamy consistency; choose a crusty, country-style loaf with a relatively soft interior so the bread blends easily into the soup, but remember to remove the crust. To keep the soup chilled for as long as possible at the table, we like to refrigerate the serving bowls.

Chilling the soup blunts the favor.  Season with additional salt and pepper.