There’s a soup for all seasons, and summer is no exception. Chilled gazpacho, along with a big salad is my perfect summer dinner. And summer lunch. And dinner again the next night if there happens to be any left. This is a bit of a twist on a Spanish style gazpacho. I make it numerous ways, always drawing on the memory of the one I had on this day. Sometimes I switch up the peppers, sometimes I make it raw. Sometimes I add a few spices. But I particularly love the subtle smoky flavor that happens when the ingredients are first charred on a dry skillet. Not to mention, it’s a nice fix for less-than-amazing tomatoes. The one liberty I suggest not taking, is subbing out the sherry vinegar. It has a certain sweetness that I don’t think any other vinegar would bring. If you hate the idea of buying a special bottle of vinegar for one recipe, stay tuned – it’s my latest obsession so I’ll have plenty of other uses for it coming up.
