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The Origins, Recipe and Serving Suggestions for Gazpacho Soup

7/5/2012

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Glass of Gazpacho
"DE GAZPACHO NO HAY EMPACHO"

"You can't get enough of a good thing" explains this popular saying and certainly during the summer months I'm not sure I could aguantar (tolerate) the heat of this peninsula without a glass of Gazpacho at my side, so much that I have come to believe that is the DNA of Iberian cuisine. 

Unfortunately, ask 100 people how best to make the dish and you will get 100 different replies. There are so many variations in quantities and even ingredients that it is almost impossible to provide the definitive gazpacho recipe.  Luckily for you, the Gazpachomonk has been investigating.....


The History of Gazpacho

The origin of the word gazpacho is uncertain; some say it may be derived from the Mozarab word 'caspa', meaning 'residue' or 'fragments', possibly referring to the chopped vegetables or small chunks of bread that are added to the soup. Others have suggested it comes from the Hebrew word 'gazaz,' meaning again, to break into pieces. ​

Gazpacho under the Romans

One story about the origins of gazpacho was that it was introduced by Roman road builders who used a basic version consisting of bread, water, oil and garlic to not only keep cool, but also nourish themselves during the hot and demanding work. Obviously, this basic version did not contain the tomatoes or peppers that were to be added later. This would come after the conquest of the Americas.

Gazpacho Recipe

Gazpacho can include:
  • Old bread soaked in water beforehand (I like to squeeze out the water to make the soup thicker) 
  • Lots of good olive oil
  • Vinegar (careful not too much!)
  • Garlic (lots, yum yum)
  • Mature red tomatoes (soft)
  • Green peppers (long ones)
  • A few peeled small Spanish cucumbers (pepinos).​
There are a lot of recommendations about peeling tomatoes before-hand, de-seeding, and sieving the vegetables, but it's all down to personal taste. If you have the time and patience to do all the above then you will produce a smoother and more palatable gazpacho. I tend to leave the tomato skins and pips in and blend the lot. This is because I do not like to to spend all day preparing the dish and I enjoy the rougher texture of the blended vegetables. However, everyone must discover his or her own preferences.   

Provided you use the same basic ingredients of mature tomatoes and good olive oil, then you will produce a marvellous liquid salad for those sweltering times of the year when solid foods become far less appetising. 

Gazpacho is one of those raw food dishes that seemingly offer little when broken up into its separate parts, but combine them together in the correct proportions and you create something very special: A revitalising, isotonic drink, low in calories which is considered (quite rightly) to be liquid gold in the mid heat of an Andalusian summer. ​​

Gazpacho: Serving Suggestions

Normally, gazpacho is only available during the months in which the vegetables are in season: From approximately May to October. The cold soup is best enjoyed during the hottest part of the day - around lunchtime. You will begin to notice your body flagging a little about this time, the summer heat has this effect on you, and so you will begin to think about somewhere shady to go and something cool to drink. This is the Gazpacho Moment: You can ask for it in a bowl with a spoon, with toppings of chopped vegetables and croutons, or it can be drunk in a tall glass with ice. 

More Recipes from Spain

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​How to get a copy of this recipe
Download this recipe and others as a short ebook/PDF for free here - and get bundled with it traditional Gazpacho, Sangria and more to be added. 

Or get the entire book on Recipes for Living Another Life - here. Travel, language, history and food all in one great book.. get a copy as an ebook, audio book or paperback and discover the origins and recipes for
  • Gazpacho
  • Pippirana
  • Salmorejo
  • Almejas
  • Tomatoe Alinado
  • Pulpo a la Gallego
  • Cogollos a la Cordobesa and more.
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How to make an Authentic Sangria: Fruity Blood

6/27/2012

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The Recipe and Origins of Sangria

Picture
The origins of this seasonal beverage can be as misty as the drink itself when the fruit wedges and floating spices are stirred by an appropriate length spoon. 

It has been argued amongst some English-speaking communities that the drink originated somewhere in the British Bahamas, but outside this colonial frame of mind it is considered that Sangria first appeared from the middle of the 19th century during the massive emigration from Iberia to Argentina - where the drink still enjoys a popularity today. In Argentina, the new immigrants were thought to have introduced the cooler and diluted version of a glass of wine to help cope with the long hot summers and the warmer climate.

On the mainland of Spain, Sangria is served everywhere during the summer, and throughout the whole year in the warmer southern provinces. In Spanish, sangre means blood and it is from this description the name derives. A version called 'Sangria a cava' exits in Catalonia which uses a white wine instead of a red - but typically, Sangria is made with red wine, using fresh, seasonal fruit and some fizzy water. Like all the best recipes, the ingredients derive from the left-overs of other meals and it is often the use of wines from the day before - or of the cheaper sort - that end up in a Sangria recipe.

Sangria: Ingredients

  • Red wine.
  • Fizzy water or fizzy lemonade.
  • Spices according to taste.
  • Lemon juice (not the fruit).
  • Oranges and other fruit cut into chunks or wedges.
  • Sugar.

Sangria: Preparation

Pour the wine into a pitcher. Add the squeezed lemon juice. Once the remaining fruit has been cut, add it to the mixture and leave it to stand for a few hours. A word of caution: Do not wait until the end to add the fruit, for it will then be purely ornamental. It is also not recommended to add the fizzy water until the moment of serving; otherwise, it will go flat before drinking. 
Don't be surprised if occasionally you are served an extra strong version; some establishments serve a variety of Sangria with vermouth or other spirits.

Sangria: Serving Suggestions

Serve in a transparent jug, with plenty of ice and a large spoon to stir or fish out the particularly tasty bits of fruit.

Finally, hang a twist of orange peel over the side for presentation. Take the pitcher, a tall tumbler and a four-legged friend outside under the shade of a tree and sip this refreshing summer-time drink, whilst tossing a stick, occasionally, in the direction of a bored Hound.

More Recipes for Living Another Life

Picture
​How to get a copy of this recipe
Download this recipe and others as a short ebook/PDF for free - and get bundled with it traditional Gazpacho, Sangria and more to be added. 

Or get the entire book on Recipes for Living Another Life - here. Travel, language, history and food all in one great book.. get a copy as an ebook, audio book or paperback and discover the origins and recipes for
Gazpacho
Pippirana
Salmorejo
Almejas
Tomatoe Alinado
Pulpo a la Gallego
Cogollos a la Cordobesa and more.
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Pippirana Recipe and the benefits of consuming a frogs-pee salad.

6/27/2012

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Pippirana spanish recipeSummer Salad: Pippirana
THINGS TH
If like me, summer arrives one unexpected morning by slapping you on the face with slice of burnt toast, compelling you to change not just your trouser length, but your diet, drinking habits, sleeping postures and even the rooms you inhabit in your house - then you may be keen to discover the secret to summer survival is far more simple than you think. Don't flee back to the UK just so you can pull on those thigh length socks again - hold on! There is a solution and like many good things in life, it begins with the letter P.

THINGS THAT BEGIN WITH THE LETTER P
Nope, its not Podemos, nor Pablo, nor Pavlov  - though I understand why you may think so - it is in fact Pippirana - translated directly as "Froggy-pee -salad" - a mouth-watering a translation as any I could imagine 

Look for it emerging during these early summer days - wherever there is a menu del día. If you cannot spot it hastily chalked up on the wall of your favourite bar, then just enter your local eating establishment, cough loudly to attract the attention of the waiter (who is probably watching the footie), and say in a loud and clear voice: "¡oiga! Jefe, una racion de pipirana!”. This will empower your Spanish in a way nothing short of a tongue transplant from Miguel Cervantes would do. 

If, you are unfortunate enough not to live in an area where the ´P´ salad is served - then fret not, for below the gazpachomOnk presents an extracted recipe from the local supplier. Go forth and reproduce...

RECIPE FOR PIPPIRANA


Ingredients
Tomatoes: mature, squashy and preferably home grown.
Couple of pepinos: (small cucumbers) peeled, cut into cubes.
An onion or two diced.
Green pepper diced.
Green olives
Vinegar, olive oil, cumin and salt.

Optional Additions:
Red Pepper
Garlic
Spuds
Either a hard-boiled egg or tuna as topping.

There are no instructions as such, you just cut it all up and lob everything into bowl, and then mix it all together. The secret ingredient is not an item, rather it is in the process. Like all the best foods, patience in preparation is the key and in the case of pippirana you should leave it for an hour or so in the fridge to absorb all the flavours before serving it.

Serving Suggestion
If you make enough to last a couple of days, you will gleefully notice that the vegetables soften, the flavours intensify and your body will now be able to withstand the temperatures of a Sahara sandstorm.

More Recipes and Food History from Spain

Want to download other recipes as a PDF?
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​Grab this free PDF of Gazpachomonk's Radical Recipes from Spain and start cooking more Mediterranean dishes today. Lean how to make Salmorejo, gazpacho and others in this *FREE PDF download. 



TRAVEL STORIES INSIDE THE TORTILLA
And lose yourself this summer in the travel stories of another era, and learn the history and the adventures behind all the recipes in this travelogue and search for a 21st century meaning to life:  
Grab the ebook/paperback or audiobook of Recipes for Living another Life. ​​
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