Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho

Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho - New York Times
Sat Sep 03 2005 10:32:31 US/Eastern
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Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho
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Denis Doyle for The New York Times
The ingredients for porra antequerana (a local variation on gazpacho), at La Espuela restaurant in Antequera.
By ANDREW FERREN
E-Mail This
Published: September 4, 2005
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SPAIN is a matrix of themed routes - rutas as they are known in Spanish Reprints
carefully mapped out for those looking to follow a lead. There is the
Catholic pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela, the Ruta del
Quijote, trailing Cervantes's beloved character from windmill to windmill in La Mancha, and,
in season, there is even a Strawberry Train.
Southern Spain
So doesn't gazpacho, perhaps the country's most persuasive
gastronomic goodwill ambassador, deserve the same? Cold
soup was addictive long before the actress Carmen Maura
tossed a fistful of Valium into a blender of gazpacho in Pedro
Almodóvar's 1988 film, "Women on the Verge of a Nervous
Breakdown." Perhaps the ultimate indication of its appeal
today might be that for just one euro, a McDonald's meal in
Spain can be supersized with a refreshing cup of the stuff.
A little research conducted among chefs, food critics and
historians suggested that tracing the regional origins of some
of Spain's most popular cold soups - gazpacho andaluz, and
its chilly culinary cousins, ajo blanco malagueño and
salmorejo cordobés, among others - would form the basis of a
route for travelers through Andalusia, going bowl to bowl
across the lovely patchwork landscape of olive groves and
jagged mountain ranges dotted with castle-crowned hilltop
towns. But along this Ruta de la Sopa Fría (Cold Soup
Denis Doyle for The New York Times Route), which took me from Córdoba to Carmona, near
Salmorejo cordobés, a sturdy form
Seville, and down through Antequera to Málaga, I soon
of gazpacho, at Casa Pepe in
learned that I was probably the only person pausing to ponder
Córdoba.
whence cometh the cooling concoctions.
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Page 1
Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho - New York Times
Sat Sep 03 2005 10:32:36 US/Eastern
According to the historian and writer Inés Eléxpuru, who has
written extensively on both historical Andalusian "rutas" and
the region's rich culinary legacy, "Gazpacho and other cold
soups have always just been part of the gastronomic mix" for
Spaniards.
Denis Doyle for The New York Times
From Córdoba in the north of Andalusia to Málaga on the
Mediterranean coast in the south, this proved to be the case.
Gazpacho, which started out neither red (tomatoes and
peppers didn't make the culinary scene in Europe until
brought from the Americas at the start of the 16th century)
nor cold (given the lack of refrigerators in the Middle Ages),
has never stopped evolving.
Willie Orellana, chef at the new
Trayamar in Málaga, prepares a
bowl of ajo blanco.
Food historians trace antecedents of gazpacho at least as far
back as the Romans in the third century B.C. though these
were further refined by 800 years of Moorish presence in the
region. Most versions evolved as a means by which peasants
could make a meal using old bread, olive oil, nuts or vegetables as well as bits of ham, hardboiled eggs and other ingredients that were either torn up into a salad or puréed with a mortar
and pestle. In Andalusia, these versions developed into subtly refined soups, but in other
regions, like neighboring Extremadura, they remained salads and are, in fact, often served
that way, and described as gazpacho extremeño or en trozos ("in pieces").
So what we may think of as the classic gazpacho of tomato, cucumber, peppers, garlic, dayold bread, olive oil, water and salt - all blended up and iced down - was itself an arriviste not
so long ago.
It's no wonder that so many distinct recipes evolved. In a less humble way, the process
continues today in the age of nueva cocina, when Spanish chefs garner Michelin stars by
making cold soups with unexpected ingredients - watermelon, cherries, mango or even
sardines, for instance.
The celebrated Andalusian chef Dani García, whose restaurant Calima, opening soon in
Marbella, will dedicate an entire section of its menu to both traditional and interpretive cold
soups, explained some of the current trends. "Traditional malagueño ajo blanco was a slightly
bitter soup of bread, almonds, olive oil, garlic, vinegar and water, so it was served with
grapes or melon to add a note of sweetness," he said. "Today, chefs may use that melon or
other fruits to make sweeter soups and so then garnish them with something savory."
Córdoba, the mythic capital of Al Andalus - as Moorish Spain was known - remains one of
the most romantic cities in all of Spain. In the maze of narrow streets in the ancient Jewish
quarter, in the shadow of the monumental Mezquita, or Great Mosque, one is transported
back to the 11th century, when Jews, Muslims and Christians shared the city in relative
harmony. With its forest of nearly 850 marble columns, the Mezquita is one of the great
architectural wonders of the world and reason enough to visit the city.
But I was in town for cold soup, since the city lends its name to a dish known as salmorejo
cordobés - a sturdy form of gazpacho that, depending on whom you consult, includes more
bread and less (or no) water than gazpacho and also has both hard-boiled and raw eggs for
added texture and richness. In fact, it's sturdy enough that it is usually served on a plate rather
than a bowl and traditionally arrives at the table topped with morsels of succulent jamón
serrano and some chopped egg.
The salmorejo at El Churrasco on Calle Romero, a charmingly overdecorated Andalusian
mesón, did not disappoint. Advised of my interest tracing the origins of Andalusia's cold
soups, the affable waiter Paco suggested I order some crisply fried eggplant as a vehicle for
the creamy salmorejo.
Salmorejo was not the only dish I tried at El Churrasco. Though I was not meant to sample it
until Málaga, the ajo blanco tempted me, and for good reason. It was a luscious purée of pine
nuts instead of almonds, topped with a chunky dice of acidic green apple and sweet sultanas.
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Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho - New York Times
Sat Sep 03 2005 10:32:42 US/Eastern
It quickly became clear that cold soup respects no traditional borders.
Just down the street, Casa Pepe, a lively jumble of small rooms on two floors, with a shaded
patio at its heart, offers its own inspired version of ajo blanco in which a scoop of tart green
apple ice cream and four translucent cubes of raisin confit float. The chef, Juan Carlo Muñoz,
also offers a gazpacho of cherries with a drizzle of chive oil - maintaining the sweet-savory
balance - on top, served in a short glass to be drunk.
Since gazpacho andaluz is the patrimony of an entire province and no one particular town, I
was free to select the next stop on the Ruta and chose Carmona, a town most likely as old as
gazpacho itself. Perched on a highly defensible hill overlooking the vast Andalusian plains,
Carmona was for millennia an important stop on the trade route between Córdoba and
Seville, as seen by the picturesque town's high density of Roman and Moorish ruins as well
as splendidly ornate Baroque churches and grand palaces.
Restaurant San Fernando occupies an airy second-floor dining room with large windows
overlooking the treetops and giddy wrought-iron pavilion in the Plaza San Fernando below.
While the luxuriantly creamy soup was about the closest thing I would sample on my journey
to a classic gazpacho, it was served in a bowl made of decoratively interlaced cucumber
slices.
Heading southeast out of Carmona across the wide-open fields where centuries before,
gazpacho's early practitioners perfected their recipes between shifts picking olives or
harvesting wheat, one passes such picturesque towns as Marchena and Osuna en route to
Antequera. The namesake of a soup known as porra antequerana, Antequera is perhaps even
older than Carmona, given the Bronze Age complex of vast cave chambers on the outskirts
of town. The Municipal Museum includes more recent cultural relics, most notably the
famous first-century Ephebe of Antequera - a beautifully preserved Roman bronze sculpture
of a youth.
According to most recipes, porra is basically gazpacho to which no water is added, creating a
soup that is denser and slightly more acidic than most gazpachos. Most recipes call for
topping it with bits of jamón serrano and hard-boiled egg, but in Antequera I didn't meet a
porra that didn't also wear some tuna and tomato wedges as well. The best I had was at La
Espuela, but it may have had to do with the romance of the location since the restaurant is
inside the city's historic bullring.
Just 45 minutes south of Antequera is Málaga, cradle of ajo blanco. José Carlos Capel,
perhaps Spain's leading food critic, suggested I go to the Michelin one-star restaurant Café de
Paris to try the ajo blanco, which is allegedly garnished with a frozen red wine granita,
"giving the soup a touch of nobility." I say "allegedly garnished" because Café de Paris was
unexpectedly closed, so I booked at the recently opened Trayamar, where there were four
cold soups on the menu - two gazpachos and two ajo blancos. The best of the bunch was a
richly smooth, more or less traditional ajo blanco of almonds, but at the bottom of which
floated diced mango macerated in anis-flavored liqueur.
Like Málaga itself - its historic center being rapidly revitalized - it seems that cold soups are
preserving the best of their traditional incarnations, but freely updating. Five hundred years
after the introduction of the tomato, it's worth considering that the Ruta de la Sopa Fría might
be more about where the road is leading than where it's been.
RESTAURANTS
CÓRDOBA: Casa Pepe de la Judería, Calle Romero 1, (34-957) 200 744. Beyond cold
soups, house specialties include Sefardi lamb with honey and hazelnuts. Lunch for two with
wine, about $60 to $75, at $1.25 to the euro.
El Churrasco, Calle Romero 16, (34-957) 290 819. Known for its salmorejo and ajo blanco
with pine nuts, this restaurant offers such specialties as humble but rich fried beans with
jamón serrano. Dinner for two with wine and a glass of local fino, known as Montilla, about
$100.
CARMONA: San Fernando, Calle Sacramento 3, (34-954) 143 556. In addition to the
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Through Andalusia, in Search of Gazpacho - New York Times
Sat Sep 03 2005 10:32:48 US/Eastern
standout gazpacho, try the cumin-infused vegetable appetizers "a la Carmona." Entrees
include chuletitas - tiny lamb chops - and codfish on garlic mousse with calamari sauce.
Lunch $25 to $50 a person. Or try the 22-euro ($27.50) tasting menu.
ANTEQUERA: La Espuela, Plaza de Toros de Antequera, (34-952) 703 424. The
restaurant specializes in traditional Andalusian dishes like rabo de toro (stewed bull's tail), as
well as the porra antequerana. Lunch for two with wine, about $60.
MÁLAGA: Café de Paris, Calle Vélez Málaga 8, Zona La Malagueta, (34-952) 225 043.
The restaurant is best known for several cold soups, among them an ajo blanco with red wine
granita, and several fruit gazpachos as well. Lunch for two with wine, about $125.
Trayamar, Plaza Uncibay 9, (34-952) 215 459. The menu changes frequently, but beyond
its interpretive versions of cold soups, Trayamar specializes in seafood such as grouper with
three types of chard. Dinner for two with wine, $100 to $125.
HOTELS
CÓRDOBA: Hotel NH Amistad Córdoba, Plaza de Maimónides 3, (34-957) 420 335;
www.nh-hotels.com. A four-star hotel housed in two 18th-century mansions and an
adjoining building in the heart of the old city near the Mosque. Rooms are clean and modern.
Double rooms from $106 to $190; not including breakfast ($18.70) and 7 percent tax.
MÁLAGA: Hotel Larios, Calle Marqués de Larios 2, (34-952) 222 200; www.hotellarios.com. On the city's grandest pedestrian street, the hotel has a rooftop terrace bar with
views over the city. Rooms, most with small balconies, are spacious and modern with a
discernable Art Deco accent. Doubles from $120 to $187; not including breakfast ($15) and
7 percent tax.
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