Cold Soup

This uncooked soup isn't for the timid — raw garlic, ginger, and shallot impart strong flavors. Unless you can get freshly made vegetable juice from your local juice bar, you will need an electric juicer to make the tomato or carrot juice. Active time: 1 hr Start to finish: 2 hr

A dash of curry powder transforms this cool fruit soup into a sweetly savory first course.

The classic Andalusian gazpacho is found all over the region with surprisingly few variations, except for the addition of cucumber and onion—ingredients that have fallen out of favor with chefs who prefer to allow the pure taste of the tomatoes, Sherry vinegar, and olive oil to shine through.

Salmorejo Cordobés In Córdoba, gazpacho is reduced to its most basic elements, with no cucumbers or peppers, and is known as salmorejo. It takes on a saucelike consistency but is still considered a soup and is served in small portions. It is scattered with chopped hard-boiled egg and julienne strips of serrano ham, both indispensable to achieving salmorejo's fullest flavor. Salmorejo is sometimes used as a dip.

Ajo Blanco Malagueño This gazpacho from Málaga gets its pure white color and creamy consistency from blanched almonds. Sweet green grapes are the essential counterpoint to the tang of garlic and vinegar. The addition of shrimp comes from chef Bartolomé Rodrigo Lucena.

Serve Champagne with this starter.

"Michael Kornick's hip mk restaurant in Chicago has quickly become one of my favorite places for a special dinner," writes Thien Sylora of Chicago, Illinois. "I had a terrific gazpacho there."

This recipe makes more honeydew ice than you'll need for the soup, but it's also terrific spooned into our plum limeade. And this dish, like the limeade, is one that you'll want to serve right away so that the soup won't begin to darken.

Chlodnik Polish cooks serve this soup (pronounced "hu-WOHD-neek") as a cooling first course for summer meals. It's a delicious alternative to gazpacho.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less but requires additional unattended time.