The Salmorejo Pilgrimage

Salmorejo is Córdoba's signature: ripe tomatoes blended with stale bread, garlic and a generous stream of good olive oil into something far thicker, smoother and richer than gazpacho - almost a dip you eat with a spoon - then chilled and topped with chopped Iberian jamón and crumbled hard-boiled egg. No cucumber, no pepper, no water; just emulsified tomato, bread and oil. Cooling, savoury and surprisingly luxurious.

You'll find excellent salmorejo all over Seville, so a flight there alone earns the dish. But for the full pilgrimage, hop the high-speed AVE train (~45 minutes) to Córdoba, salmorejo's home city - a jewel of Andalusia crowned by the breathtaking Mezquita, the great mosque-cathedral with its forest of red-and-white arches. Soup at the source, a wonder of world architecture, and back to Seville (or the airport) by evening.