I don’t know what makes this particularly Basque, but this is from a cookbook that I’ve been using for gazpacho since before you born. Over the years I’ve modified it to make it easier, or to adapt it for what I had on hand- but one thing can’t be changed; the bread, oil and vinegar are what makes it go from fancy salsa to soup.

Before you do anything:
Take 4 thin or 2 thick slices of baguette and if they are not already, make them stale (use the toaster or the oven)
Tear into pieces in a mixing bowl. Add the 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup vinegar and let sit so bread can soak up the liquid.

Ingredients:
4 thin slices of French bread
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup red wine or sherry vinegar
2 medium pickling cucumbers, peeled, seeded and rough chopped (peeling & seeding optional)
1 yellow or red bell pepper
8 large ripe tomatoes (3-4 pounds)
1/2 cup red onion
1 clove garlic
2 cups tomato juice, or, to taste and feel (I usually just add a small can of low sodium V8)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 jalapeno (test for hotness and adjust) or few dashes of hot sauce to taste

Instructions
Rough chop all the vegetables
Using a blender or a food processor, blend all the vegetables plus salt and pepper, in batches if necessary, until it’s more liquid than salsa but not as thin as tomato soup
Add the bread, oil and vinegar and blend gently
Pur into a large bowl
Add tomato juice until its the consistency you desire. The ripeness of the tomatoes and cucumbers will determine how much juice you add
Let sit and allow for flavors to blend together for at least an hour

Advanced tip: Make with yellow tomatoes and add corn for a different look and flavor.  Omit red onion and add scallion. Garnish with avocado and grilled shrimp.