Gazpacho

Andalusia, southern Spain (Guadalquivir valley tradition)

Gazpacho is Andalusia's cold raw vegetable soup — a liquid salad of ripe tomatoes, cucumber, green pepper, garlic, sherry vinegar, and best-quality olive oil, emulsified to a smooth, silky consistency and served ice-cold. Its origins predate the tomato's arrival in Europe, when white gazpacho (ajo blanco) fed field workers in the Guadalquivir valley; the red version emerged only after the Columbian exchange but now defines the form. The soup demands ripe, sun-warmed tomatoes — supermarket fruit picked green will never yield the necessary sweetness and acidity. Sherry vinegar (not wine or cider vinegar) provides the characteristic Andalusian sharpness. The soup is blended raw and forced through a fine sieve, then chilled at least four hours so flavours integrate and the olive oil fully emulsifies.

Classic garnishes — diced tomato, cucumber, red onion, croutons — add textural contrast; manzanilla sherry alongside bridges the vinegar note and provides a clean mineral finish.