What cold Spanish soup is made from blended raw tomatoes, garlic, and olive oil? The answer is gazpacho.
The best-known version is Andalusian gazpacho, a chilled soup made from raw vegetables. Besides tomatoes, classic recipes commonly include cucumber, green pepper, stale bread, olive oil, wine vinegar, water, and salt. The ingredients are blended or traditionally pounded into a smooth, refreshing mixture.
Gazpacho developed from older Iberian preparations based on bread, water, oil, vinegar, and garlic. Tomatoes arrived in Europe from the Americas after the 16th century, and the red tomato-based style became widespread during the 19th century. It was especially associated with southern Spain, where its coolness suited hot summers and agricultural work.
A common mix-up is salmorejo, another Andalusian cold tomato soup. Salmorejo is thicker and more heavily emulsified, usually contains more bread, and is often topped with chopped egg and ham. Ajoblanco is also cold, but it is a white almond-and-garlic soup rather than a tomato soup. Gazpacho manchego is a separate hot game stew despite its name.