A cold soup of raw tomato, pepper, cucumber, garlic, bread, olive oil and vinegar, blended smooth and drunk in the heat.
What makes it gazpacho
Ripe raw tomatoes, green pepper and cucumber.
A little bread, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar to bind and sharpen.
Served cold, thin enough to drink.
Where it comes from
Older gazpachos were bread, oil, vinegar, garlic and water, pounded together in a mortar — food for labourers in the fields. Tomatoes and peppers arrived from the Americas and, over time, turned it red.
Today it's blended rather than pounded, kept cold in the fridge, and served in a glass as often as a bowl. The name also covers a quite different hot dish, the gazpacho manchego of La Mancha, a game stew with flatbread.
How it varies
Ajo blanco
The white, older cousin: almonds, bread, garlic and oil, with grapes.