We think we know what gazpacho is—the cold soup from Spain made with tomatoes blended with garlic and olive oil. Gazpachuelo is a cooked soup from Málaga that sometimes has fish or shellfish in it. It may be closer to the origin of gazpacho than the cold soup.
The origin of the word “gazpacho” is tracked to way before the arrival of tomatoes from the New World to the European continent. One study (María Teresa Santamaría, “Etimología de gazpacho,” Universidad Castilla-La Mancha, 2023.) links the word phonetically to the Latin “caccabaceus,” a cauldron or cooking pot, and subsequently to bread cooked in the pot. The word apparently became “gazpacho” following the Reconquest of the Arabic-speaking population of Mozárabe Christians in the transition to the Romance language that would become Castellano Spanish.
The word “gazpacho” was originally used for a cooked dish, a shepherd’s stew to which is added a flatbread called torta. The dish, often with partridge or rabbit, continues to be popular in La Mancha and is known by the plural, gazpachos.
Gazpachuelo, although it is a diminuitive of gazpacho, is a cooked dish. Consisting of bread, rice, or potatoes with an egg and olive oil emulsion, it is sometimes called sopa de huevo in other parts of Spain. It is not unlike the Greek avgolemono. In inland pueblos of Málaga gazpachuelo might include salt cod, while in the fishermen’s barrios of Málaga it has bits of fish and shellfish.
I’ve written about gazpachuelo before (see below for links to recipes). Today I’m making a summertime variation, turning it into a shrimp-potato salad served with a chilled lemony broth.
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| A lemony potato salad with shrimp mixes with a light broth made with mayonnaise. |
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| Add garnishes to taste--crispy croutons, olives, green peas. |
Chilled Gazpachuelo Soup with Shrimp-Potato Salad
Gazpachuelo en Frio con Ensaladilla de Gambas
I have divided the recipe into its components, shrimp broth, potato salad, mayonnaise, and soup, as it easily can be prepared in stages. Be sure to refrigerate the components if they are prepared in advance. A light shrimp broth is the liquid base for the soup. If shrimp heads are not available, use store-bought fish stock, light chicken broth, or plain water.
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| Shrimp heads for broth. |
For the shrimp broth:
8 ounces small, heads-on shrimp
Salt
2 cups + 4 cups water
Ice water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, lightly crushed
1 bay leaf
Parsley sprig
Lemon wedge
2-3 small potatoes (8 ounces), scrubbed
Peel the shrimp, reserving both the heads and bodies in separate bowls. (If desired, remove dark veins from the shrimp.) Bring 2 cups of water to a boil with ½ teaspoon salt. Have ready a small bowl of ice water with ½ teaspoon salt. Add the peeled shrimp to the boiling water. Immediately remove the pan from the heat. Set a colander over a heat-proof bowl. Drain the shrimp, saving the liquid. Place the shrimp in the ice water to cool. Drain and reserve the shrimp, covered and refrigerated, until ready to serve the soup.
Heat the oil in a soup pot on medium-high. Add the shrimp heads and crushed garlic. Fry them 4 to 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are browned. Add the reserved liquid from cooking the shrimp, 4 cups water, bay leaf, parsley, lemon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium and add the potatoes to cook in the pot. Cook until potatoes are tender when piereced with a knife, 15 minutes. Remove the potatoes. Set a strainer over a heat-proof bowl and strain the shrimp broth. Discard the solids. Let the broth cool.
For the mayonnaise with lemon juice:
Use your best-flavored extra-virgin olive oil to make the mayonnaise.
1 large egg
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon salt
Place the egg in a tall container with ¼ cup of the oil. Using an immersion blender, blend at high speed without raising the blender until the egg and oil are mixed and beginning to thicken. With the blender running, slowly add the remaining ¼ cup oil. Raise and lower the blender until the mixture is emulsified. Add the lemon juice and salt.
For the potato-shrimp salad:
Cooked potatoes
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 piquillo pepper (from a can) or 1 tablespoon chopped roasted red pepper
1 teaspoon finely chopped parsley
Cooked shrimp
Peel the potatoes and cut them into ½-inch dice. Place in a small bowl and add the oil, salt, and lemon juice. Chop the piquillo pepper and add to the potatoes with the parsley. If not serving immediately, store, covered, in the refrigerator. Immediately before serving, add the shrimp to the potatoes, saving a few to garnish the tops of the soup.
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| Soup after blending. |
To serve the soup:
Mayonnaise with lemon juice
5 cups shrimp broth
Potato-shrimp salad
Shrimp to garnish
Chopped chives or parsley to garnish
Cooked peas (optional)
Olives (optional)
Rucula leaves (optional)
Croutons of fried bread or breadsticks (optional)
Place the mayonnaise in blender cup. Beat in 1 cup of the shrimp broth. Place the remaining shrimp broth in a deep bowl or pot (so it doesn’t splatter when blended). Gradually beat in the mayonnaise-stock from the blender cup. Place the soup in a covered bowl or flask and chill until serving time.
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| Mound or mold the salad. |
Divide the potato-shrimp salad between 4 shallow bowls, mounding it in the center of each bowl. Or place it in a small mold as pictured.
Carefully pour the chilled soup into the bowls around the salad. Garnish with a few shrimp and peas, if desired, on top. Sprinkle with chives. Serve garnishes of olives, rucula, croutons alongside the soup.
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| Serve a selection of garnishes on the side. |
More interpretations of gazpachuelo:
Meatballs in Gazpachuelo Soup (meatballs are turkey; purple potatoes)
Mediterranean Seafood Chowder (Gazpachuelo) A Málaga classic. Why not call it chowder?
And, a recipe for ensaladilla--without the soup:
A documentary about gazpachuelo (in Spanish) made by Jorge Rivera Gazpachuelo (Documental, Subs ES/EN) | Videos & Movies on Vimeo
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