BEFORE THERE WERE TOMATOES—

Córdoba, capital of the 10th century Moorish caliphate, is known for the dish of salmorejo, a thick tomato-based gazpacho cream. Once a meal for field hands working in the olive groves, wheat fields and vineyards of Andalusia, salmorejo today is served in tapa bars and restaurants with garnishes such as exquisite ibérico ham or chunks of tuna. 

The origins of salmorejo are Moorish. But, hang on. There weren’t any tomatoes back then. Tomatoes, “discovered” in the New World after Columbus, did not become widely cultivated in Spain until the 18th century. Indeed, the original salmorejo contained no tomatoes. It was probably first a simple gruel made by Roman legionnaires, of bread crushed with olive oil and garlic. The Moors, who introduced almond trees to the Iberian peninsula, added ground almonds to the bread, creating a dish far more appetizing and nourishing.

Mazamorra is a savory almond cream, chilled and garnished with ham, egg and olives.

Known as mazamorra, this white almond cream is to salmorejo as the white cold soup with almonds, ajo blanco (“white garlic”), is to tomato gazpacho—its precursor.

Green almonds, before the fibrous shells have hardened. The nut kernel can be used in place of shelled almonds.

Mazamorra was originally made in a wooden bowl by pounding the almonds with a mallet or pestle (the maza). Nowadays it is easily confected in a blender or food processor. It can be made with “green” almonds where available. Or, in place of almonds, pine nuts, dried fava beans, carob, lupin beans or vetch. Originally poor folks’ food, mazamorra was made with whatever was available in season.

Because it is a Cordoban dish, I recommend that you use extra virgin olive oil from Córdoba. The Picual variety has a fresh, fruity flavor with just a little bite. By the same reasoning, vinegar from the Córdoba wine region of Montilla-Moriles would be the preferred choice, although Sherry or other wine vinegar can be used. Unlike ajo blanco, which has “garlic” right in its name, mazamorra has a very gentle hint of garlic. The bread should be a dense crumb country loaf. How much water is needed to convert the bread and almonds to a thick cream depends on the bread and the power of your blender. The consistency of the mixture should be a thick cream or stiff mayonnaise.

Serve the mazamorra in shallow bowls or ramekins.

Variations on the garnish, clockwise from the top, sliced apple, vegetable crisps, and diced ham and melon balls.

Serve the almond cream as a party dip with vegetable dippers.

Vegetable crisps (carrot, kale, beet) add crunch to the smooth cream.

Use the mazamorra as a sauce or salad dressing. Delicious on this salad of diced chicken, nectarines, toasted almonds, chives and salad greens.

Serve mazamorra very cold as a starter in small bowls garnished with chopped ham, hard-cooked eggs and olives. Like ajo blanco which is served garnished with Málaga muscatel grapes, mazamorra also goes nicely with sweet fruits. Try melon, mango or ripe figs. Or turn it into a dip accompanied by vegetable dippers. Or, use it as a sauce or salad dressing.

Cold Almond Cream, Córdoba Style
Mazamorra Cordobesa

Serves 6 as a starter.

Almonds, garlic, bread and oil.

4 cups (8 ounces) fresh bread crumbs
1 ½ cups cold water plus additional as needed
1 cup blanched and skinned almonds (see below)
1 large clove garlic
1 ½ tablespoons Sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup extra virgin olive oil plus additional to finish
Garnishes: chopped serrano ham, hard-boiled egg and black olives

Place the bread crumbs in a bowl and add the water. Stir to moisten the bread and let it set 10 minutes to soften. Add the almonds, garlic, vinegar and salt. Process in a blender or food processor until almonds are ground and the mixture is a thick paste. Blend in the oil. Add additional water, a spoonful at a time, to make a thick cream. Refrigerate the cream.

Serve the almond cream in shallow bowls or ramekins garnished with chopped ham, egg and olives. Drizzle with additional olive oil.

Two ways to blanch and skin almonds: Soak the shelled almonds in water to cover overnight OR drop them in boiling water for 1 minute. Pinch off the brown skins leaving the white almonds.

Green almonds in June. Earlier in the spring the whole almond is edible--outer pod, immature shell and gelatinous kernel. I used a handful of the kernels with regular shelled almonds to make the mazamorra.

Related recipes for salmorejo, porra and ajo blanco:

White Gazpacho (Ajo Blanco con Uvas).

Grilled Chicken with Figs and Ajo Blanco Sauce.

Ajo Blanco with Apples.

Ajo Blanco for Michelle Obama.

Ajo Blanco with Pears.

Gazpacho Cream (Salmorejo).

Fava Bean Cream (Porra).

Gazpacho Cream with Mango (Porra). 

TWO CHEFS COME TO LUNCH

Here’s how I came to make lunch for two American chefs. An old friend, Gerry Dawes, got in touch, saying he was taking two young chefs around western and southern Spain on a mission to explore regional Spanish cooking. One of them, Ryan McIlwraith, will be the executive chef for a new, Spanish-inflected restaurant  in San Francisco (at 888 Brannon), part of the Absinthe Group (name and opening date still not announced). The other, Joel Erlich, will be the executive sous chef there.

Lunch at my house: Chef Ryan McIlwraith (left) and Gerry Dawes, gastronome.

I know Gerry from way back in the 1970s, when he lived in the same village where I live. Now he’s  an expert on Spanish gastronomy, wine and travel, who does specialized custom tours for culinary luminaries.

Gerry said they would be traveling from Sanlucar de Barrameda via Ronda to Málaga and would like to stop off in Mijas so he could introduce the chefs to me and to my cookbooks.

Sure, I said, come for a late lunch.

Ohmygod. Whatever will I cook for a couple of chefs? This would be Ryan’s third culinary trip to Spain, so he was no novato. He was previously chef de cuisine at Michael Chiarello's  Coqueta (San Francisco) where he garnered experience working with Iberian-inflected cuisine.

“What do you know about gazpachuelo?” Gerry asked me. “Ryan wants to try a version of that while we’re down there.  Is there any place we can have it?”

Gazpachuelo--Mediterranean seafood chowder.

Gazpachuelo, although it sounds like “gazpacho,” is not a cold soup. It’s a hot soup, typical of the traditional Málaga kitchen. The simplest version is made with nothing more than egg, olive oil and potatoes, although refined versions usually include fish and shellfish, ham and a bit of Sherry as well.

So, it would be gazpachuelo for lunch. As starters, I added another village dish, calabaza frita, sauteed pumpkin (I just happen to have a pile of pumpkins from the garden), and a salad of oranges, onions, olives and salt cod, called salmorejo in my village (yes, salmorejo is something entirely different in Córdoba).

Calabaza frita, pumpkin sautee, for a starter.

Another starter--salmorejo--salad with oranges, onions, olives and salt cod.

Chefs Joel Erlich (left) and Ryan McIlwraith in my kitchen.

Chef Ryan serves the soup.

Ryan and Joel joined me in the kitchen as I finished off the soup, poaching chunks of hake in fish stock, whipping up olive oil mayonnaise (Hojiblanca varietal oil, so typical of Málaga) and whisking it into the hot soup. Pros that they are, the chefs served the soup.

What did they think?

“I enjoyed it very much,” said Ryan. “Sure, my chef brain kicks in and starts reworking every morsel I put in my mouth. That just comes naturally after awhile. A little more salt and umami (ham bones, mushrooms in the stock, more Sherry) would have elevated the dish pretty quickly.

“I'm also always looking for acid, texture, and freshness. Would herbs or spices make this dish more exciting for American palates?  What about a topping of crispy potatoes or leeks?  What seasonal Californian vegetables would have brought texture and freshness to the dish—radishes, beets, cardoons, watercress, sun chokes—maybe all of the above,” he laughed.

“What local fish would work best? Lingcod, black cod, or petrale sole maybe. Maybe a finishing oil of chive or sorrel oil would give it punch and break up the flavors on the palate.  And, because we always eat first with our eyes, what dish would it be best served in? Some sort of local ceramic pottery or classic Spanish cazuela.”

“Wow!” says I. A glimpse inside the mind of a chef. I will definitely think about Ryan’s ideas next time I make gazpachuelo. My rendition absolutely needed  more salt and I completely forgot to add the lemon juice to the mayonnaise. Ham bone in the fish stock is a great idea. Crispy leeks would be fine. But, no, no, no beets in it! Don’t go there, Ryan!

Chef Ryan is not saying whether gazpachuelo will be on the menu of the new restaurant, nor revealing anything else on his menu yet. It's all still top secret.

The point of Ryan and Joel’s trip (Madrid-Ávila-Segovia-Sevilla-Sanlucar-Granada-Córdoba), planned by Gerry Dawes, who knows everybody in Spain who is part of the gastronomy world, was to familiarize themselves with regional dishes, with an emphasis on Andalusian-style tapas and dishes with Moorish and Jewish roots. 

“We visited all four of the ibérico ham regions,” said Ryan. “In California, we buy Cinco Jotas, so it was amazing to see their new facility and all of the history and science that goes into preserving the true Iberian pig.” They also spent time with Florencio Sanchidrian, a master ham cutter, to learn the art of slicing jamón ibérico.

“We’ve met so many outstanding people on this trip,” said Ryan. “One is Javier Hidalgo of Bodegas Hidalgo La Gitana (Sanlucar de Barrameda).  He gave us a tour of his family’s bodega and a great education in Sherry.  We had lunch with him at Casa Bigote and went to the market with him in Sanlucar.  He is also a biologist and horse jockey, what a smart and interesting individual.

“Almost every morning for breakfast we had café con leche, fresh squeezed OJ, and pan con tomate with ibérico de bellota ham.  I would attack each day with a smile if that was my breakfast every day for the rest of my life.”

Ryan noted the absence of eggs for breakfast in Spain, with egg dishes appearing throughout the rest of the day.

“I’m a huge fan of eggs with dinner,” he said. “Fabulous scrambled eggs with wild asparagus for lunch or Spanish-style fried egg on top of vegetable and ham dishes are some that won’t leave my taste memory anytime soon.”

“Why a Spanish-themed restaurant in San Francisco?” I asked Ryan.

“Small plates with bold flavors, shared amongst friends—it’s my favorite way to dine," he replied.  "Spain has such a rich history of undiscovered gems that you find in all the different regions.  As a chef, studying Spain and Spanish food continues to drive me forward."


In my kitchen with the chefs--video by Gerry Dawes.


MEDITERRANEAN SEAFOOD CHOWDER
GAZPACHUELO

This is the recipe for gazpachuelo that I served to the chefs. Following their suggestions, I’ve added more olive oil and Sherry to the recipe. Oh, yeah, and salt. Important to taste! The fish I used was merluza (fresh hake). I used the head, bones and trimmings to make a fish stock.

Serves 6.

1 egg, room temperature
¾ extra virgin olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon salt
8 cups fish stock
1 ½ cups diced potatoes
¼  cup shelled peas, fresh or frozen
1 ½  cups boneless chunks of white fish
¼ cup chopped serrano ham
1/3 cup peeled shrimp (3 ounces)
Roasted red pepper, chopped (optional)
½ cup Sherry (fino or amontillado)
Salt, to taste

Place the egg in a blender container. With the motor running, add the oil in a slow stream until it is emulsified. Blend in the lemon juice and salt. Set aside.

Put the fish stock in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Add the potatoes and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook 5 minutes more.

Then add the chunks of fish, ham, shrimp and Sherry. Bring the soup to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.

With the motor running, ladle some of the hot soup into the emulsion in the blender. Remove the soup from the heat and whisk the emulsion into the soup. Serve immediately. The soup can be reheated, but do not boil.

Orange and Cod Salad
Salmorejo
In my village this salad is called salmorejo. But in Córdoba and Sevilla salmorejo is something else altogether, a thick gazpacho. The salad, also known as remojón or ensalada malagueña (Málaga salad) sometimes includes potatoes as well as oranges.

The cod is scattered on top almost like a seasoning. Chunks of canned tuna, drained; cooked shrimp, or strips of serrano or ibérico ham can be substituted for the dry salt cod.

4 ounces dry salt cod (bacalao)
4 oranges, peeled and pith removed
6 scallions or 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
10 green or black pitted olives
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Sherry vinegar
Red pepper flakes (optional)

Place the cod in a bowl and cover with water. Soak it, changing the water once, for 12 hours. Rinse, squeeze out water, then pat dry on paper towels.

Toast the salt cod under over a gas flame or under the broiler until it is lightly browned. Shred or chop the cod, discarding any skin and bones.

Slice the oranges or else separate them into segments and cut the segments in half to make bite-sized pieces. Arrange on a serving plate. Scatter sliced onions on top. Arrange the olives on the oranges.

In a small bowl combine the minced garlic, oil, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Scatter the bits of cod over the salad and drizzle with the dressing.

The recipe for calabaza frita (pumpkin sauté), pictured above, appears here.

COOKING CLASS: PAELLA!

Come along for a paella cooking class.

The paella cooking class starts at the local market. Lisa and Norbert, visitors from Munich, Germany, join me to buy all the ingredients we’ll need for today’s meal.

Norbert already speaks good Spanish, as he studied a year in Mexico. As a developer of marketing programs for BMW autos, he visits Spain frequently. Lisa, a dentist, is studying Spanish. I give them a shopping list in Spanish so they can practice the vocabulary. Can you translate it?

Lista de compras

Carnecería
3-4 muslos de pollo
100 g jamón serrano en lonchas

Pescadería
8-10 mejillones
1 calamar, limpio
6 langostinos grandes
450 g gambas

Frutería
1 pimiento verde
1 tomate grande
alcachofas??
100 g judías verdes
pimientos rojos asados
1 limón

Especería/Panadería
azafrán
almendras fritas
pan

Supermercado
arroz valenciano
aceite de oliva

Choosing a "toad-skin" melon.

”Artichokes” is followed by question marks, because I wasn’t sure if they would be available. And they weren’t. We didn’t need to go to the supermercado, as both rice and olive oil were available at the market too. The toasted almonds are to serve as nibbles while we cook. The ham is the topping for the salmorejo to serve as a starter; “toad skin” melon, an exceptionally sweet variety, will be our dessert.

Francisco offers us a sample of serrano ham.

A fish vendor shows how to clean fresh squid.

Café con leche at a plaza café.

After shopping, we stop at a café in the plaza for segundo desayuno, second breakfast—café con leche (with glasses of ice cubes to cool it down) and pitufo catalan, a toasted bun rubbed with tomato, drizzled with olive oil and topped with ham.

I tell Lisa and Norbert that paella is never, ever served at night. It’s an afternoon meal, especially for Sundays and holidays. However, we decide that it’s too hot at midafternoon to really enjoy the meal. The plan: start cooking (in my air-conditioned kitchen) about 6:30, to eat at sundown on the terrace.


In the kitchen

While Norbert and Lisa cool off by the pool during the afternoon, I do some prepping. I peel the shrimp and use the heads and shells to make a stock that will add flavor to the paella rice. I’ve also scrubbed the mussels and steamed them open. They’re refrigerated until time to garnish the finished paella.

We’re using a 12-inch paella pan with no-stick surface. No, this is not traditional. I show them a “real” paella pan, of rolled steel. It’s great for cooking outside on a wood fire, but needs care to prevent rusting. It’s hard to manage such a large pan on the stove top. What to use back in Germany? they ask. A large skillet or a flat-bottom wok are possible substitutes.

I show them the paella rice. It’s a round, medium-grain rice, preferably from Valencia (eastern Spain). Paella originated in the Valencia area, where workers in the rice fields used wild rabbit or duck, snails from the flooded rice fields and seasonal vegetables to cook with the rice in a pan on a wood fire.  (The best substitute for paella rice is Italian risotto rice, such as arborio.)

Getting Started

“I’m not so good at cutting,” says Norbert, faced with chopping up peppers and tomatoes for the sofrito, the starting point of paella. Lisa takes over on the chopping detail. A good paella starts with a sofrito, the slow sauteeing of chicken, shellfish, peppers, garlic and tomatoes. Good olive oil is the essential in this process.

First we sauté whole shrimp in the oil and remove them. The shrimp flavors the oil and will later serve to garnish the rice. Next, the chicken pieces go in the pan to brown, then the chopped green peppers and garlic.

Time to open a bottle of chilled vino rosado (rosé).

Crush the saffron threads in a mortar.

Meanwhile, Norbert crushes the saffron threads in a mortar and puts them in a cup of hot water to infuse. Saffron gives inimitable color and flavor to the paella.

I demonstrate how to use kitchen scissors to cut the squid into rings. Into the pan they go. Then the chopped tomatoes. After this mixture “fries” for several minutes, we stir in the rice. The shrimp stock is simmering nearby. We’ll need about double the volume of liquid to rice, so 4 cups of stock for 2 cups rice. (I gave Norbert and Lisa the paella recipe in metric measures.) I like to save out a cup of the liquid to add towards the end of cooking. We add the saffron water, then taste the liquid to see if it needs salt. “More salt,” says Lisa. Tasting is important-- if the stock is really salty, no more is needed.

We put in par-boiled green beans, frozen peas and all of the small peeled shrimp. Won’t they be overcooked? That’s not the point. Think of them as flavoring, adding to the total flavor of the rice. We stir in the saffron water. Look! the rice is turning golden.

Unlike risotto, I tell my paella trainees, this rice gets stirred hardly at all, once at the beginning to distribute the ingredients, maybe again part way through cooking.

We leave the paella to cook on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes, while we make our salmorejo—a thick gazpacho. Tomatoes from the garden, a chunk of country bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt into the food processor until it is a smooth cream. Garnished with strips of serrano ham and chopped hard-cooked egg, it makes a lively starter. (Recipe here.)

Top the paella with mussels and shrimp.

Norbert garnishes with strips of red pepper.

We stir the remaining hot stock into the paella and reduce the heat to low. Ten minutes more to cook, until the rice is just barely tender and all of the liquid absorbed. Lisa places the cooked mussels and shrimp around the top and Norbert gives the paella a final touch with strips of roasted red pepper. Covered with foil, it sets for 10 minutes.

Serve the paella!

PAELLA WITH CHICKEN AND SEAFOOD


Serves 4-6.

6-12 mussels or clams, steamed open, liquid strained and reserved
4 oz/100 g green beans, cut in short lengths and cooked until tender
6 large unpeeled shrimp, with heads on if possible
¼ cup/60 ml olive oil
1  lb/450 g boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 3 or 4 pieces
12 oz/ 350 g squid, cleaned and cut in rings
1 large artichoke, trimmed, cut in sixths, choke cut out
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1-inch squares
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 large tomato, peeled, seeded and chopped
2 cups/ 375 g medium-short grain rice
4 cups/ 450 ml chicken broth, shrimp broth, clam liquid or water
pinch of saffron, crushed and mixed in 1/4 cup hot water
1 lb/ 450 g shrimp, peeled
freshly ground black pepper
salt to taste
strips of roasted red pepper for garnish
lemon wedges for garnish

Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the whole, unpeeled shrimp and saute them until pink on both sides. Remove the shrimp and reserve.

Add the pieces of chicken to the oil and saute on a medium-high heat until they are browned on both sides. Add the squid and fry. Add the peppers and garlic and continue sauteing. Add the artichokes. (If you cut them immediately before adding to the pan, they do not need to be rubbed with lemon.) Next add the tomatoes and continue frying.

Add the reserved mussel or clam liquid to the stock. Bring the stock to a boil in a separate pan. Add the rice to the paella pan. Stir it in to combine all the ingredients. Stir in all but 1 cup of the hot stock. Add the saffron water, pepper and salt to taste (depending on the saltiness of the stock). Let everything cook on a medium-high heat for 10 minutes, then add remaining hot stock, turn the heat down to low and continue to cook until rice is just tender, about 10 minutes more.

Scatter the green beans over the top of the paella. Place the sauteed shrimp and cooked clams or mussels on top and garnish with strips of red pepper. Remove from heat, cover with foil and let the paella rest 10 minutes. Serve garnished with lemon wedges.

Want to learn to make paella? Follow this  link to read more about cooking classes in My Kitchen in Spain.

Paella at sunset.

SALMOREJO--IS IT A DIP? A SAUCE? GAZPACHO?

Salmorejo is gazpacho "cream."

It’s sweltering hot in southern Spain right now. With the first day of summer and the solstice madness of the San Juan festival, it sure seems time for some cool gazpacho. Except I’m loathe to break my own rule—to make gazpacho only with home-grown tomatoes, which are still weeks away. Instead, I’m enjoying some “pre-gazpacho”—salmorejo. Salmorejo is made with more or less the same ingredients as gazpacho—bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and tomato—but the proportions are different. More bread, less tomato, no water to thin the puree. I call it  “gazpacho cream.” 

Salmorejo is famous in the tascas of Córdoba, where it’s usually presented in individual ramekins to be eaten with a spoon. Garnished with strips of serrano ham and chopped egg, it serves as a starter, instead of soup, instead of salad, a gazpacho place-holder. A very similar preparation in the town of Antequera (Málaga) is called porra and is a rustic country dish made in an olive-wood bowl.

Salmorejo as a party dip.

Salmorejo is thick enough to serve as a dip. I like to serve it in a bowl accompanied by raw vegetables and breadsticks as dippers. Salmorejo also makes a sauce—spoon it over grilled fish or chicken—or a salad dressing.

Country bread thickens the cream.

Use good country-style bread with a dense crumb as the base for salmorejo. It should be at least a day old. In fact, salmorejo is a great way to use up stale bread. It’s easier to process the bread if it’s first soaked in water to soften it. Squeeze it out really well. The finished cream should be the consistency of thick mayonnaise.

Salmorejo
Gazpacho Cream

Serves 10 to 12 as a party dip or 6 as a starter.

12 ounces day-old bread, crusts removed
1 pound ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded
3 cloves garlic
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon wine vinegar
2 ounces serrano ham, cut in thin strips, to serve
2 hard-boiled eggs, sliced, to serve

Cut the bread into chunks and put in a bowl with water to cover. Let soak until softened.

Cut the peeled and seeded tomatoes into chunks and place in a food processor bowl with the garlic. Process until puréed.

Squeeze out as much water as possible from the bread. Add the bread to the processor bowl. (If necessary, process in two batches.) Process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly add the oil, salt and vinegar to make a thick cream. Chill until serving time.

If serving as a dip, spread the cream in a dish and garnish the top with strips of ham and sliced egg. As a starter, serve the cream in individual ramekins or small bowls, each garnished with ham and egg.

VEN A LA COCINA (COME INTO MY KITCHEN)

Here I am in my kitchen in Spain. The video clip comes from a TV program, Diez Razones Para Ir a Mijas (10 Reasons to Go to Mijas), that aired recently on Canal Sur television in southern Spain.

I am reason number eight. Well, not me exactly. I along with two other expats (a Swiss and a Japanese) represent the village’s resident foreigners. I am preparing ajo blanco con uvas, white gazpacho with grapes, (the recipe is here) to serve to my guests. We expats sit around the kitchen table and talk about what we like about life here in Andalusia and what we like to eat. It’s all in Spanish!



In another segment on the show, a cook in a local bar prepares salmorejo, a favorite tapa, a salad of oranges, salt cod, onions and olives.  (A recipe for that salad is here. In my version, also called ensalada malagueña, I swapped shrimp for the salt cod.)

Reason Número Uno? The famous Burros Taxis that carry tourists on a loop around the plaza get first place. Should you wish to watch the whole program (about 30 minutes), the link is here.