Gazpacho Andaluz de Remolacha

Gazpacho de remolacha is Andaluz, a summer gazpacho built on ripe raw tomato, garlic, vinagre de Jerez, bread, olive oil, and cooked beetroot that stains it a deep crimson. It is still gazpacho because the tomato and oil carry the soup; the beetroot sweetens and darkens it, it does not take over. If the beetroot takes over and the tomato disappears, that is not this dish. It is cold beetroot puree.

Make it only when the tomatoes are worth eating raw. The method that decides it is the oil: blend the vegetables first until they are completely smooth, then pour the oil in slowly with the blender running. That slow pour makes the oil part of the soup, so the texture turns silky instead of thin, and the beetroot's earthiness stays clean.

If you're far from Andalusia, use plain cooked beetroot from a vacuum pack, the kind without vinegar, and the best ripe tomatoes your market gives you. No vinagre de Jerez? Use a good red wine vinegar and know it will be less rounded. Chill it hard, taste it cold, and correct the salt and vinegar then. Pésalo, no lo adivines. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.