Mediterranean Recipes – Soup

Soup is a big category in any language, but in Spanish it’s enormous. And it’s as basic to life as is bread. ln fact, quite a few Spanish soups are little more than bread and water gruel which besides sustaining people through poor times, are surprisingly tasty. Of these, sopa de ajo, garlic soup, in its myriad variations, even tums up on restaurant menus, a peasant dish in sophisticated surroundings.

Though visitors to Spain immediately think of gazpacho when they think of soup, this concoction, a sort of liquid salad, is a genre all by itself. Naturally enough in a country surrounded by the sea, fish soups are among the best.

Some are rich medleys containing four or five kinds of fish, clams, prawns and squid, not unlike the French bouillabaisse. Others are smooth bisques.

The basic soup in Spain is the broth from the puchero or cacido, interchangeable words for the Spanish boiled dinner of chicken, beef, sausages, garbanzos and vegetables. On the first serving it would contain rice or thin vermicelli noodles (fideos). For a second meal, perhaps supper the same day, the broth forms the basis of a new soup.

Then there are the potajes and cazuelas. Potaje just means pottage or potage and is a thick soup, usually containing garbanzos or pulses, vegetables and small bits of meat or sausage. Though it is often served as a first course for the main meal, it is certainly substantial enough to stand alone. A cazuela is an earthenware cooking dish and these meals are, quite simply, casseroles, similar to the potajes.

Within these various categories there is a soup for every taste and every season. The gazpachos are light summer fare; the potajes are sturdy winter eating; the seafood soups are delicious any time, the garlic soups make satisfying family meals.

Here are a few recipes for the most popular types of soup. We have already covered gazpacho itself in another section.

Galician Broth

This delicious, hearty soup is very similar to the warming, chunky meat and potato broths of cooler climates. We had a bowl of this one cold February morning when we were last in Galicia – it’s wonderful! Very reminiscent of Scotch broth.

INGREDIENTS
450 g/1 lb gammon, in one piece
2 bay leaves
2 onions, sliced
10 ml/2 tsp paprika
675 g/1 1/2lb potatoes, peeled and cut into large chunks
225 g/8 oz spring greens
425 g/15 oz can haricot or cannellini beans, drained
salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 Soak the gammon overnight in cold water. Drain and put into a large saucepan with the bay leaves and onions. Pour over 1.5 litres/2 1/2 pints/6 1/4 cups fresh cold water. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer very gently for about 1 1/2% hours, until the meat is tender. Keep an eye on the pan to make sure it doesn’t boil over.

2 Drain the meat, reserving the cooking liquid, and cool slightly. Discard the skin and any excess fat
from the meat and cut into chunks. Return to the pan with the reserved cooking liquid, the paprika
and potatoes, Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

3 Cut away the cores from the greens. Roll up the leaves and cut into thin shreds. Add to the pan with the beans and simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve hot.

Chilled Tomato and sweet pepper soup

Unlike Gazpacho, this soup is cooked before being chilled.

INGREDIENTS
2 red peppers, halved and seeded
45 ml/3 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
675 g/1 1/2 lb ripe well-flavoured tomatoes, cut into chunks
150 ml/1/4 pint/1/4 cup red wine
600 ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups chicken stock
salt and freshly ground black pepper
snipped fresh chives, to garnish

FOR THE CROUTONS
60 ml/4 tbsp olive oil
2 slices white bread, crusts removed and cut into cubes

1 Preheat the grill. Cut each pepper half into quarters. Place skin side up on a grill rack and cook until the skins have charred. Transfer to a bowl and cover with a plate until cool. Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic and cook until soft.

2 When cool enough to handle, remove and discard the skin from the peppers and chop the flesh. Add the peppers and tomatoes to the pan, then cover and cook gently for 10 minutes. Add the wine and cook for a further 5 minutes, then add the stock and salt and pepper and continue to simmer for 20 minutes.

3 To make the croutons, heat the oil in a small frying pan, add the bread and fry until golden. Drain on kitchen paper and store in an airtight box. Process the soup in a blender or food processor until smooth. Pour into a clean glass or ceramic bowl and leave to cool thoroughly before chilling in the fridge for at least 3 hours. When the soup is cold, season to taste. Serve the soup in bowls, topped with the croutons and garnished with chives.

Garlic Soup

This is a simple and satisfying soup, made with one of the most popular ingredients in the Mediterranean — garlic!

INGREDIENTS
30 ml/2 tbsp olive oil
4 large garlic cloves
4 slices French bread, 5 mm/1/4 in thick
15 ml/1 tbsp paprika
1 litre/1 3/4 pints/4 cups beef stock
1.5 ml/1/4 tsp ground cumin
pinch of saffron strands
4 eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper
chopped fresh parsley, to garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 230°C/450°F/ Gas 8. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the garlic cloves and cook until golden. Remove and set aside. Fry the bread until golden, then set aside. Add the paprika to the pan, and fry for a few seconds. Stir in the stock, cumin, saffron and the reserved garlic, crushing the cloves with the back of a spoon. Season, then cook for 5 minutes.

2 Ladle the soup into four ovenproof bowls and break an egg into each. Top each with a slice of fried bread and place in the oven for 3-4 minutes, until the eggs are set. Serve sprinkled with parsley

Chilled Almond Soup

Unless you want to spend time pounding the ingredients for this dish by hand, a food processor is essential.

INGREDIENTS
115 g/4 oz fresh white bread, about 4 thick slices
115 g/4 oz/1 cup blanched almonds
2 garlic cloves, sliced
75 ml/5 tbsp olive oil
25 ml/1 1/2 tbsp sherry vinegar
salt and freshly ground black pepper
toasted flaked almonds and seedless green and black grapes, halved and peeled, to garnish.

1 Break the bread into a bowl and pour over 150 ml/1/4 pint/2/3 cup cold water. Leave for 5 minutes. Put the almonds and garlic in a blender or food processor and process until very finely ground. Blend in the soaked white bread and water. Gradually add the oil until the mixture forms a smooth paste. Add the sherry vinegar then 600 ml/1 pint/2 1/2 cups cold water and process until completely smooth.

2 Transfer to a bowl and season with salt and pepper, adding a little more water if the soup is very thick. Chill for at least 2-3 hours. Ladle the soup into bowls and scatter with the toasted almonds and peeled grapes.

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