A little research conducted among chefs , food critics and historians suggested that tracing the regional origins of some of Spain 's most popular cold soups -- gazpacho andaluz , and its chilly culinary cousins , ajo blanco malagueno and salmorejo cordobes , among others -- would form the basis of a route for travelers through Andalusia , going bowl to bowl across the lovely patchwork landscape of olive groves and jagged mountain ranges dotted with castle-crowned hilltop towns .