Soups

Gazpacho as most people know it is the Andalusian soup of fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, and stale bread. This chilled soup also includes a slew of cold vegetable purees, some that omit tomatoes and add almonds. White gazpacho reflects Spain’s ancient Arabic past. These bowls of soup would have been made with a mortar and pestle, but use a blender and give it plenty of time to whir and lots of olive oil, and you’ll get a velvety texture. Let the soup mellow for at least several hours in the refrigerator or overnight for optimal flavor.

When Anthony Sasso was growing up in Woodstock, N.Y., “soups were something that you ate to warm you up, a recovery food,” he said. If someone in the family had a bad cold, a soup was made with a stock simmered with beef bones or a few chicken legs, and a handful of vegetables. As for cold soups, Mr. Sasso said no thanks. In 2006, he went to Spain for a year to live and cook. In a town called Palafolls in Catalonia, he ate the first cold soup he liked. It was a white gazpacho: almonds, garlic, bread, grapes, olive oil, sherry vinegar and water — blended into a rich, subtle summer soup.

Make this colorful, filling vegetarian soup - with tomatoes, corn, zucchini, black beans, and rice - in about 30 minutes. Add a squeeze of lime, leaves of fresh cilantro (or parsley), along with warm tortillas, and you have a satisfying weeknight supper. To save time, start cooking the onions with oregano (the Mexican variety is ideal here, if you can find it) while you prepare the golden bell pepper and zucchini. The best and quickest way to warm tortillas is one at a time over a medium gas flame.