Gazpacho and salmorejo: two Spanish chilled soups

Spanish cold soups are not only the well-known gazpacho. Spain has a wide variety of cold soup recipes that vary by region. For several years now, we have been running away from the Lithuanian winter to the Tenerife summer, so it is not surprising that I am learning and sharing more and more about Spanish dishes – here shrimp with garlic squid with chorizo, and now I want to talk about another pride of Spanish cuisine – cold soups.  Here are two of the most popular ones that are very easy to make at home.

Andalusian gazpacho is the most popular cold soup

Gazpacho (pronounced gazpacho) is probably the most famous Spanish cold soup, originating from the Andalusia region. It is a light red, thick soup made from fresh tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, garlic and olive oil.

So, for gazpacho you will need:

1 kg of ripe tomatoes

1 medium fresh cucumber

1 red pepper

1 small red onion

1-2 cloves of garlic

3 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

Salt, freshly ground pepper to taste

Water (if too thick and needs to be diluted)

Basil, parsley for serving

We produce:

Wash all the vegetables well under running water.

Tomatoes need to be peeled: it is easier to peel when the skin of each tomato is lightly cut into a cross at the top, then the tomatoes are immersed in boiling water for five to ten seconds. Then, after removing, you need to pour cold water over it and peel it.

Cut all the vegetables into larger cubes.

Put everything in a blender and blend until smooth.

We season with high-quality extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, delicious salt and pepper.

If it is too thick, you can dilute it with water. It tastes better if it stays in the fridge for at least a couple of hours, then all the flavors will bind together. Serve with finely chopped vegetables, you can add a few cubes of dried bread to season with olive oil. By the way, gazpacho can be served as a cold soup, but it is also customary to serve it in small glass jars as an aperitif, then gazpacho is simply drunk.

Salmorejo Cordobes is another cold soup

Salmorejo (pronounced salmorecho) is a thick, creamy cold soup originating from the city of Córdoba. It differs from gazpacho in that it is thicker and made only from tomatoes, bread, garlic and olive oil. Salmorejo, served with a hard-boiled egg and a slice of cured ham, toasted bread.

Salmorejo will need to be prepared

1 kg of ripe tomatoes

200 g of white bread, yesterday’s is perfect, just cut off the crust

100 ml extra virgin olive oil

2 cloves of garlic

Salt, black pepper to taste

For serving: For hard-boiled eggs and jamon serrano ham, count half an egg per diner.

We produce

Peel the tomatoes and cut them. How to peel more easily, read next to gazpacho.

Cut the bread into cubes and soak in a small amount of cold water for about 10 minutes. Press down.

Grind everything, bread, tomatoes and garlic in a blender, if there is a lack of liquid, add a little. Then, while still blending, slowly pour in the olive oil and whisk until the soup becomes creamy.

Season with salt and pepper, then put in the fridge for a couple of hours. Serve with hard-boiled eggs and cured ham.

Spain is big and has really more than one cold soup. Ajoblanco (pronounced achoblanco) is a white cold soup originating from the regions of Malaga and Granada. Its main ingredients are almonds, bread, garlic and olive oil. Porra Antequerana, a cold soup from Andalusia, similar to salmorejo, but thicker. Zoque – from the Malaga region, similar to porra, but with additional ingredients such as hot peppers and mint. Gazpachuelo, also from Málaga, differs from the others in that it is based on fish stock and mayonnaise. Mazamorra, Pipirrana, I will share when I make it 🙂