Gazpacho Sevillano

Recipe by: Leslie Brenner

This recipe was part of the L.A. Times story that won me a James Beard Journalism Award in 2004! (“Forget what you know: This is gazpacho” — you may hit a paywall.)

Peeling the tomatoes and red bell pepper and puréeing the ingredients as smooth as possible makes for an elegant version of Southern Spain's famous cold soup. For a quicker version, don't bother peeling either, and don't worry about seeding the tomatoes; just core them and cut them up before tossing them into the food processor. Either way, using super-ripe, flavorful tomatoes, sherry vinegar and the best possible olive oil in the right proportions will result in gazpacho that will blow you away. Note: The easiest way to peel a bell pepper is to seed it, cut it into thick strips and peel them with a vegetable peeler.

To achieve maximum smoothness, I usually purée the ingredients in a food processor (in a couple of batches), then pour…