The ancient Romans prefigured our modern summer soup called gazpacho. They took a pestle and mortar and pounded together stale bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and water and made of the mix a sort of room temperature potage.

After Columbus introduced the tomato to Europe, in the very late 1400s, the Spaniards added the sweet red fruit (and other vegetables such as the cucumber and onion) to this Roman “gazpacho” and sent forth to the world this quintessential hot-weather dinnertime starter and refreshment course.

The word “gazpacho” may come from the Latin “caspa,” one meaning of which is “fragments,” and also from the Hebrew “gazaz,” meaning “to clip” (as into small pieces), much in the way we talk about “chopped salad.” The influence of the vegetable-heavy cooking of Spanish Sephardic Jews on the history of gazpacho is likely significant.

But what was heretofore pounded by pestle and mortar is now nearly universally blended in a food processor or blender, although it forever remains a use for day-old bread. (Many gazpacho recipes, including one here, eschew the use of bread in order to highlight the vegetable ingredients, but stale bread and at least the idea of gazpacho are irrevocably bound together).

All the recipes here are for a traditional Spanish gazpacho, that is, a silken smooth, un-chunky gazpacho. You may reintroduce chunks of vegetable by serving garnishes to individual servings of any gazpacho in the form of wee cubes of cucumber, bell pepper, capsicum (spicy) pepper, tomato, onion or scallion, even avocado, melon, or chopped hard-cooked egg

More heart-healthy gazpacho hints or tips:

• Bake or dry-roast croutons from merely old bread, herbs and ground pepper. Fried-in-oil croutons are tasty, but also laden with fat.
• Don’t substitute vegetable for olive oil; the latter has flavor, more than usually necessary in a cold soup. Just use less of it if on the watch for fat.
• Sub out Greek-style yogurt (or cashew cream) for sour cream or crème fraiche, either in the gazpacho (as with the recipe for white gazpacho) or as a dollop atop a serving of gazpacho.
• Using avocadoes will introduce creaminess; fruits such as pear, watermelon or many a melon will bring on the sweetness.
• Crumbled bread thickens many a gazpacho. An even healthier sub may be ground-up nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, pine nuts). Chopped nuts also can replace croutons.
• Raw garlic, of course, but easy does it at the get-go. It “potentiates” and becomes stronger in flavor and aroma as it sits around, especially after being pulverized and added to a gazpacho.

White Gazpacho

This is a “bleached” twist on the standard tomato-and-red pepper gazpacho. Adapted from allrecipes.com. Serves 4-8, depending on portion size. Makes about 1 quart/liter.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 cup leeks, white and light-green parts only, thinly sliced crosswise

2 English cucumbers, completely peeled, quartered and chopped

8 green grapes

1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds or pine nuts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/3 cup plain yogurt (regular or Greek style)

1 cup sturdy-crumbed stale bread, crusts removed and in cubes

2 tablespoons sherry or cider vinegar (or 3 tablespoons rice vinegar)

1 and 1/2 cups cold water, or more as needed

Salt, plus more to taste

Dill fronds, for garnish

Directions

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook and stir leeks until soft, 10-15 minutes, taking care not to brown or burn any of the leeks. Remove to a plate and allow to cool.

Place cucumbers in a blender with grapes, almonds, 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, yogurt, bread cubes, vinegar, cooled leeks, and water. Purée until smooth, about 1 minute. Strain through a “china cap” or similar sieve or strainer, gently pushing through some of the solids.

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours or overnight. Taste and season with salt. If desired, add some more vinegar. Serve garnished with dill.

Gazpacho Amarillo (Yellow Gazpacho)

Adapted from “Best Gazpacho” at cooking.nytimes com. Makes a little over 1 quart/liter.

This gazpacho is more a drink than a soup and is served that way in its place of origin, Sevilla, Spain. Unlike many gazpachos, this recipe uses no bread, a solid amount of Spanish extra virgin olive oil and yellow, not red, tomatoes. (Of course, it can be made from red tomatoes if desired. Merely change the name to “Gazpacho Rojo.”)

Ingredients

About 2 pounds ripe yellow tomatoes, cored and roughly cut into chunks

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and roughly cut into chunks

1 cucumber, about 8 inches long, completely peeled and roughly cut into chunks

1 small white onion, peeled and roughly cut into chunks

1 clove garlic

2 teaspoons sherry vinegar, more to taste

2 teaspoons kosher or sea salt

1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil, more to taste, plus more for drizzling

Directions

Combine tomatoes, pepper, cucumber, onion, and garlic in a blender or, if using a hand blender, in a deep bowl. (If necessary, work in batches.) Blend at high speed until very smooth, at least 2 minutes, pausing occasionally to scrape down the sides with a rubber spatula.

With the motor running, add the vinegar and salt. Slowly drizzle in the olive oil. The mixture will become smooth and emulsified, like a salad dressing. If it still seems watery, drizzle in more olive oil until texture is creamy, even frothy.

Strain the mixture through a strainer or a food mill, pushing all the liquid through with a spatula or the back of a ladle. Discard the solids. Transfer to a large pitcher (preferably glass) and chill until very cold, at least 6 hours or overnight.

Before serving, adjust the seasonings with more salt and vinegar. If soup is very thick, stir in a few tablespoons ice water. Serve in glasses, over ice if desired, or in a bowl. A few drops of olive oil on top are a nice touch.

Gazpacho Andaluz with Crisped Ham

Adapted from saveur.com. To make vegetarian or vegan, simply omit the crisped ham. Serves 4.

This is the classic Spanish gazpacho, originating in the southern region of Spain called Andalusia, home to all the traditional ingredients: its vegetables, sherry vinegar and, in this recipe, jamón serrano.

Ingredients

6-8 slices jamón serrano (or prosciutto)

1 large slice stale country-style bread, about 1-inch thick, crusts removed

2 small cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped

2 pounds very ripe tomatoes, seeded and coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled and chopped

2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/2 cup Spanish extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt

Other optional garnishes of green pepper, seeded and finely chopped; cucumber, peeled, seeded, and finely chopped; 1 cup 1/2 inch croutons; small white onion, peeled and finely chopped; 1 small tomato, seeded and finely chopped

Directions

To a small bowl, add the bread and enough cold water to submerge. Set aside to soak for 30 minutes.

Make the crispy ham: preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Place a wire rack on a large baking sheet. (Alternatively, if you don’t have a rack, you can roast the ham slices on a parchment-lined baking sheet.) Arrange the jamón serrano slices in a single layer on the rack and roast until quite crisp, 6-8 minutes. When cool enough to handle, roughly crumble the ham and set it aside.

Use your hands to squeeze all of the moisture out of the bread, discarding any soaking liquid. Place the bread in the bowl of a food processor, then add the cucumbers, tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and 1 cup cold water. Process until very smooth. Place a strainer (such as a “china cap”) over a large bowl and strain the vegetable purée, pressing on the solids with the back of a wooden spoon to make a completely smooth soup. Season to taste with salt, then cover and refrigerate for at least 2 or up to 24 hours.

Serve in soup bowls, garnished with swirls of more olive oil, bits of the crisped ham and any or all of the optional garnishes to the side.

Reach Bill St. John at [email protected]