2021 Vuelta - Stage 11: Antequera to Valdepeñas de Jaén
Another hilly day in Andalusia faces the riders today. Just beyond the southern tip of this region, and across the Strait of Gibraltar, is Morocco. Many dishes of southern Spain have a North African influence, and such is the case today. While many always think of gazpacho as strictly Spanish, it also has its Moorish roots. The name of the dish itself comes from the Arabic word for “soaked bread” and that is the very first step of this classic dish. I’m making the version found in the cookbook from one of my favorite Spanish restaurants, The Columbia Restaurant, located throughout Florida, but their main headquarters is in historic Ybor City in Tampa.
Gazpacho Andaluz adapted from The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook, Adela Hernandez Gonzmart & Ferdie Pacheo
For the old, stale bread, you can use some reaaaally old (as long as it’s not moldy!) bread. Mine was rock hard and it’s perfectly fine for this use. For the croutons, though, you want to use fresh bread.
Soup
4 slices of old, stale baguette, diced
2 cups water
Spanish onion, large dice
3 large, ripe, peeled and seeded tomatoes
1 large cucumber, seeded and roughly chopped
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tsp salt
Garnish
Small cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced fine
Green pepper, seeded and minced
Shallot, minced
Tomato, finely diced
Fresh bread for croutons
Olive oil
Dried herbs
Place the diced bread in a large bowl and mix with ¼ cup of the water to soften while you prepare the soup vegetables. Place the remaining soup ingredients in the large bowl, adding the remaining water at the end, and stir to combine. Let sit for an hour then process in a blender. Pour back into the bowl, cover and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. This will hold overnight, if desired.
Meanwhile, prepare your croutons by dicing some fresh baguette, tossing with olive oil and seasoning heavily with dry herbs, and some salt and pepper. Toast in a 400 degree oven for about 10-15 minutes, flipping half-way through. Let cool.
When ready to serve, stir some of the diced garnish vegetables into the large bowl of soup and taste for any seasoning needs.
Ladle the soup into individual bowls, adding a final touch of the garnish vegetables and croutons and serve. ____________________________ Copyright 2021, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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