Specific Soups and Stews: Gazpacho

Gazpacho originated in Spain, where it was considered a peasant soup. Consequently, recipes for it were not published in early Spanish cookbooks, which were written mainly for the upper middle class. Randolph’s Virginia House-wife includes the first known recipe for gazpacho, from an Arabic word meaning “soaked bread.” As the culinary historian Karen Hess has noted, Randolph probably acquired this recipe from her sister, Harriet Randolph Hackley, who had lived in Cádiz, Spain. It is also interesting to note that the second and third known published recipes for gazpacho were also not published in Spain.