Summer Spaghetti with Gazpacho Sauce

Cold spaghetti tossed in a raw gazpacho sauce, the kind of dish Andalusian cooks invented for August afternoons too hot to face the stove. Ripe tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, and red bell pepper get pureed with sherry, vinegar, and a pinch of saffron into a chunky chilled sauce that drapes over oiled cold pasta.

The move that lifts this above ordinary cold pasta salad is the dual-texture treatment of the vegetables. Half go into the blender for the sauce body, half stay diced and reserved for sprinkling on top, so each bite finds smooth tomato puree and a crisp little dice of cold cucumber and pepper.

Nasturtium blossoms aren’t there for show. They have a peppery, watercress-like bite that finishes each bowl with a faint heat. Chive blossoms add gentle onion. Skip them if you can’t find them, but the dish loses some of its summer character.

Pro Tips

• Toss the just-cooked spaghetti with olive oil and garlic while it’s still warm. The oil coats each strand and prevents clumping when chilled
• Use only peak-season tomatoes. Out-of-season tomatoes give a thin, watery, anemic sauce
• Steep the saffron threads in the sherry for 5 minutes before adding to wake up the color and flavor
• Garnish at the very last minute. Flowers wilt fast on cold pasta

Variations

• Substitute thin angel hair for a more delicate texture under the sauce
• Stir in pitted black olives or a tablespoon of capers for briny punch
• Top with crumbled feta or shavings of manchego for a salty contrast