When it's forty degrees outside, the stove is the enemy. That's why Andalusians invented gazpacho long ago - a cold soup of raw tomatoes, made with no baking, no boiling, that fills and refreshes in the same spoonful. The classic recipe is simple, but it holds a few small things that separate the good from the great.

For the base you need 1 kg of ripe tomatoes, one cucumber, one green pepper, one clove of garlic, a small onion, about 50 grams of bread, 150 ml of olive oil, a little vinegar, salt and water as needed. The tomatoes are washed, stemmed and cut, then put together with the garlic, pepper, cucumber, onion and bread into a tall container. Blend to a purée, add the oil and a few drops of vinegar, salt and blend again.

The secret lies in two things many people skip. First - leave the chopped vegetables with a little salt and vinegar for twenty to thirty minutes before blending; this softens the tissue and lets the flavours bind better. Second - strain the gazpacho through a fine sieve for a silky texture, then adjust the thickness with water. And most important: at least three hours in the fridge. A gazpacho that isn't ice-cold isn't gazpacho.

It's served in deep bowls, with finely chopped vegetables on top as a garnish. The Balkans knows this logic from cold tarators and chilled soups - summer doesn't call for heavy food, but for something that cools you from within. A bowl of well-made gazpacho does that more cheaply and more healthily than any packaged meal from the supermarket fridge.