🇪🇸 Spain · Málaga, Andalusia
GazpachueloWarm Málaga fish soup
A warm Andalusian soup of fish stock, potato and sometimes rice, finished off the heat with a garlic mayonnaise (and a little vinegar or lemon) stirred in so it turns creamy without boiling.
Origin and history
Gazpachuelo is a warm soup from Málaga, born among the fishermen of the port, with fish stock, potato and a mayonnaise stirred in at the end. Despite the name it has no tomato and is not cold. It is related to other Andalusian emulsified or bread-based preparations such as ajoblanco and the porra antequerana, but it is a dish of its own.
Make it at home
- Makes
- 4 servings
- Total time
- 1 h 20 min
- Hands-on
- 40 min
Ingredients
- 800 g1.75 lb whole hake (merluza) or other white fish, filleted; keep the head and bones for the stock and cut the fillets in small pieces
- 8 large prawns (gambones or langostinos), optional; peeled, shells kept for the stock
- 500 g1.1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut in even bite-size chunks
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, plus a little chopped, to finish
- 2 litres2 quarts water
- 1 egg, for the mayonnaise, at room temperature
- 1 small clove garlic, optional, for a garlicky mayonnaise
- 100 mlscant 1/2 cup mild olive oil, for the mayonnaise
- 100 mlscant 1/2 cup sunflower oil, for the mayonnaise
- 1/2 to 1 lemon, juice, or a splash of vinegar
- salt, to taste
- toasted or fried bread, for serving
Method
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1. Put the fish head, bones and prawn shells in a large pot with the bay leaf, parsley and water. Bring to a boil, skim, and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
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2. Strain the stock into a clean pot, pressing the solids. Add a little salt.
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3. Add the potatoes to the stock and simmer for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender but not collapsing.
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4. Meanwhile, make the mayonnaise: whisk or blend the egg with the garlic, lemon juice and a pinch of salt, then add the two oils in a thin stream until thick.
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5. Take the pot off the heat and let it stop bubbling. Put the mayonnaise in a large bowl and stir in a few ladlefuls of warm stock, one at a time, to temper it.
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6. Drop the fish pieces and prawns into the hot stock and potatoes. They will cook in the residual heat in a couple of minutes.
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7. Slowly pour the tempered mayonnaise into the pot, stirring gently, until the broth turns creamy and pale. Do not put the pot back on the boil or the mayonnaise will split.
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8. Serve straight away, sprinkled with parsley, with toasted bread alongside.
Notes
- Despite the name it is not a cold gazpacho: there is no tomato and it is served warm. It shares only a name with the cold soups of Andalusia.
- The original is said to belong to Málaga's fishermen, and white fish keeps the mayonnaise pale. Family versions without fish at all, only potatoes, stock and mayonnaise, are also made, and a poached egg white stirred in to set is a classic touch.
- Common additions: a handful of rice cooked in the stock, diced serrano ham, and chopped hard-boiled egg.
- Use mild olive oil in the mayonnaise; a very strong extra virgin oil can overpower the delicate broth.
- The broth must be hot but not boiling when the mayonnaise goes in. Tempering with a little stock first is what keeps it smooth.
- It does not reheat well. Make the stock ahead, but finish with the mayonnaise at the last moment.
Adapted from Gazpachuelo malagueño, receta tradicional, Directo al Paladar and Gazpachuelo malagueño, Recetas para una cuarentena, Universidad Pablo de Olavide.
At the festivals
No festival we list has printed it on a menu yet.