History Curiosities: Origin of GAZPACHO

The famous Gazpacho plate originally plate the region of the south of Spain (Andalucia), goes back to times of the Arab invasion in Spain, Al-Andalus. The original prescription was without tomatos. Tomatoe entry in europe coming from Aztecs until half of century XVI. The Arabs  made a species  "gazpacho white" call actually in Andalusian  “Ajo Blanco”.

 Gazpacho original was elaborated already at the time of Al-andalus and the ingredients were bread in migas (to tiny amounts), garlic, olive oil , vinegar, salt and water. These ingredients are grind  in mortar (dornillo) and served like a soup. All of them ingredients Halal (admited) acording to the Muslim nutrional norms.

The first reference of gazpacho in a book does not become until 1611 in the book “Treasure of the Castilian Language” of Sebastian Covaruvias and Orozco, in who it defines it of this form:

Interestin thats no containing the "tomatoe" words and "pimiento verde"green peppers.

Actually the component of Gazpacho it´s Tomatoe,cucumber, green  o red pepper(colour will be more red), garlic,olive oil, vinegar, salt, and do you can use bread and chilled water to thicken more or less.

As well   Paella exist variety of kind of Gazpacho in Andalucia like Ajo Blanco, Salmorejo Cordobes, Porra Antequerana, Zoque Málaga, Ajo colorao in Almeria.

Mango White Gazpacho with smoked salmon tartar - Ajo Blanco de Mango con tartar de salmon ahumado

   Ingredientes:
- 200 gr. peeled almonds
- 100 gr of staled bread (we used the bread previus day)
- 1 cloves garlic
- 1 spring onions
- 200 gr smoked salmon
-100 gr shrimps
- 1 small mango
- 1 boiled egg
- teaspoon mustard
- dill or coriander (salmon it´s better the dill)
- 200 cl  olive oil, two  spoon sherry vinegar,salt, pepper.

  Procedure:

- To the AJO BLANCO,Mix the almonds(better leave all night into water to soften the almonds) with the breadcrums, garlic, sherry vinegar, salt, 2 glass of water(half liter), 1/3 of olive oil, half mango move all, cover  and leave to sit freezer.

- To Salmon tartar, begin with a heated with a spoon of oil, the spring onions and the corps of shrimp, add salt, no cook more than 1 minute, put in a bowl to losing temperature.

- Peeled other half mango, and diced 1 cm cube

- To the Salmon Smoked Tartar.Put the Mango into the same bowl, with the shrimps and spring onion, add salmon smoked, and boiled egg (all chopped). Add a teaspoon of mustard, dill chopped and pepper. MIxture all well, taste salt and reserved

- blend very well, the AJO BLANCO we had keep in the freezer, while we are blending we add the rest of olive oil to emulsive. Adjust the thickem with water (the tchik must be like gazpacho) and strain the Ajo Blaco and keep in the freezer(must be served really chilled)

- To present put the Salmon smoked tartar in the center of dished, with a chilled small jug of "Ajo blanco" cover the dished.

  PS:

-The original recipe it´s without mango (I add the mango give excelent taste)

- You can changed the Salmon smoked tartar, with melon and ham, or grapes (that´s the original in malaga)

- This soup always server very chilled, You can make hours before and leaver in the fridge, just waitting guest.

- The history of "ajo blanco" or "white gazpacho"come the conquest of roman century III  A.C., oldest than "Gazpacho" 1800 years, just tomatoes come to europe in the XVI century, American conquest.....Posibly you can taste a piece of history...

Clams "Malagueña style" (Almejas a la malagueña)

       Ingredientes:
- 2 cloves of garlic chopped
- 250 grams of clams
- one glass of dry white whine (250 cc)
- 1 bay leaf
- parsley
- half lemon

     Procedure:

- Place the clams filled bowl water, with 2 spoons of salt and transfer to refrigerator 1 hour minimum (release all the sand), after that clean the clams with clear water.

- Put in the saucepan all ingridients, boiled until opens the clams, between 2 or 4 minutes, do you control about open clams, add juice of lemon

  PS:

- This dished it´s easy to cook, just very important freshly clams
- To keep fresh the clam, spain we put into closely dump cloth.
- The clams not open, take out.

Cod Croquetas with orange tartare sauce

     Ingredients:

- 300 g. cod without salt

- 1 onions

- 1 bay leaf

- 1 small teaspoon nutmeg (1 or 2 gr)

- 3 cloves garlic

- ½ red pepper

- 1 orange

- 200 g.  butter

- 200 g. flour

- 2 glass milk (half litre aprox.)

- 1 cup mayonaisse

- 1 teaspoon of capers

- 1 small cucumber

- 1 egg

- 1 cup olive oil, salt and pepper

- parstley

- breadcrums: flour, beaten egg and bread crumbs

   Procedure:

- Put the cod in a saucepan with 2 glass of cold water and 1 bay leaf, when start to boil, take  out the fish of the water (keep the watter whithout bay leaf), and leave it repose a few minutes

- cut sliced of onion finely, and fried with a melted butter, add garlic, red pepper and left fried in a medium-high heat-

- Add the flour, mixed thoroughly and cook briefly (until flour take a toast colour), add water of you boiled the cod, mixed consistetly (to taking care not create lumps), and add half liter of the hot milk and not stop to move consistetly until the mass take form.

- Add the cod cut finely chopped into the mass, mixture well, taste it´s ok salt, add  nutmegg, salt leave 1 minute in the saucepan moving well. Leave the mass cool with a plastic  top of mass ( not create crust in the top mass) inside the fridge (recommended a few hours, is more easy to create the croquettes).

- tartare sauce. Mixed mayonaised,add one spoon of onion chopped, the cucumber, capers, parstley, and juice of the orange, blending all and reserve very cold.

- Give form mass of croquettes,shape round of larger (you own choise), pass into the flour, after beaten egg and dip into breadcrumbs.wich will stick to the croquette because the egg. Place each croquette separately on a plate. you can fry them straight away, or put them into the fridge and leave them until you are ready to cook and eat them.

- Fry the croquettes in a pan with enough oil to cover them. When they are golden and crispy, take them out and lay them on kitchen roll to abosrb the excess oil. Served straight away.

   PS:

- Very impotant move the mass properly, to dont leave lumps.

- You´ll now the mass it´s ready when start to taking off into the sauce pan. Just the texture correct the croquette will be better not dry, better soft texture.

- To the Tartare sauce, can make the home mayonnaise, or in summer it´s better the "Lactonesa", is swap the egg for whole milk (in summer do you have risk with the egg).

Fish and rice balls with clams and Shellfish sauce [Albondigas arroz y gambas]

        Ingredients:

- 1 onion

- 1/2  leek

- 200 grams clams

- 500 grams of prawns

- 3 cloves of garlic

-  half cup flour 

-1  Egg

- 1 cup tomatoe sauce (150 gr or 200 gr)

- 1 cup rice

- 1tea spoon sweet paprika (about 3 grams)

- olive oil, salt and black peppers

    

        Cooking procedure:

- Leave the clams in bowl with 2 glass of water, one spoon of salt to clean the clams and left the sand is inside the clams, about 2 hours

- Boiled the rice in a water with salt

- Strained the rice, and leave in a plate to cool, without cleaned (to leave the rice starch we use to unit the balls)

- Fry  in a pan with 1 spoon olive oil the the shells of the prawns (keep the corps), add onions sliced, and 2 cloves of garlic,add white of leek fry until start  the cloves take color, add paprika and quickly (if not burn the paprika) add one cup ot tomatoe sauce, moving well, cover with water and salt, and half cup of rice (to thick the sauce) leave the simmer about 20 minutes.

- blend the sauce and pass sauce the strainer to take off the pice of shell of prawns

- Minced the corps of prawns (better with Knife that liquidizer )

- To prepared the balls, mixed the boile riced (cool), and the corps of prawns, add 1 garlic and parsley very well choped, add 1 egg (to mixed well  the balls), make smalls balls with the mixture, pass in a flour, and fry them in oil. When its fried, move the balls straight into the pan with the sauce and add the clams, leave them simmer in the sauce about 15 minutes...

PS:

- Do you can swap the prawns to cod, baby squid etc..., always it´s good to see in the fridge, that it´s do you get.

- Don´t need it too much oil to friyng the balls

- It´s very important, strain very well the sauce, embarrasing to find minced shell of prawns.