Waiting at a pavement table in Seville in the shade of a leafy tree, famished as usual, a fat orange orange fell at my feet. A Sevilla orange, which is good only for marmalade. Just in time my lunch arrived.
To begin with there was a glass, of gazpacho. I learnt two things: that soup can be served, and elegantly, in a glass. And that gazpacho is the most delicious and easy-to-make cold soup whose ingredients are always to hand in an Indian kitchen. It was pale orange, thick, but sippable, slightly tart, and full of flavour. One could distinguish each ingredient: tomato, onion, garlic, cucumber and olive oil. But something about the way they were blended with oil had pulled them all together into a cold potage that was robust yet subtle.
A few days later, in Córdoba, I had to have the local soup: salmorejo, which is like gazpacho, yet substantial enough to mean business. I had a tapa portion and it came in a small pottery bowl. Pink-orange, thickened with bread, it was topped with a layer of olive oil and las guarniciones — chunks of Serrano ham and tuna flakes, crumbled hardboiled egg, chopped onion and green pepper.
Then at dinner I ordered the perfect summer evening dish: white garlic soup ( sopa de ajo blanco) . Chilled and white, smooth and creamy, it tasted nutty and had a gentle undertone of garlic. Each region must have myriad cold soups, but sangria was universal. I was a little in awe of the romance and glamour around that jug of ruby red wine, glittering with ice and decked with slices of fresh fruit... but I came back and tried my hand and discovered that sangria has no big secrets. It’s basically red wine — not an expensive kind — that has been fortified with liquor and then diluted and sweetened to make it delicious. Adding chopped fruit and a straw and makes it the stuff of holiday brochures.
Salmorejo
Serves 4
8 ripe tomatoes
1 green pepper
3 garlic cloves
2 slices of bread
125 ml olive oil
1-2 tbsp white wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar
To finish, las guarniciones:
1 chopped fresh onion
1 green pepper, chopped
1-2 chopped hard-boiled eggs
2 tbsps flakes of tuna
2 tbsps chunks of Serrano ham
Chop the tomatoes, green pepper, and garlic coarsely. Put in a mixer adding the bread soaked in a bit of water, part of the olive oil and salt to taste. Pulse through. Add enough water to reach a creamy texture. At the end add the vinegar and mix again. Check the seasoning, adding more salt or vinegar and more oil if necessary. Serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and the guarniciones.
Sangria
Makes roughly 1.5 litres
1 bottle of red wine (preferably Spanish)
600 ml 7UP (or other sparkling lemon drink)
1 glass of liquor (ideally brandy, whiskey or Cointreau)
2 peaches
2 apples
2 oranges
3⁄4 cup powdered sugar
1 stick cinnamon
Reserve one of each fruit for later. Chop the rest (do not peel) and soak overnight in liquor with cinnamon. Strain and discard the fruit. Pour the fruit-infused liquor into a jug. Thinly slice remaining fruit. Pour chilled wine, liquor and lemonade into a large jug and add lots of ice.
Stir in sugar, taste and add more if you like. Pour over ice into glasses, float fresh fruit and
serve chilled.
Sopa De Ajo Blanco
(White Garlic Soup)
Serves 4
1⁄2 cup blanched, peeled almonds
3 cloves garlic
3-4 slices stale baguette or white bread
4 cups water
5 tbsp extra virgin Spanish olive oil
3-4 tbsp Spanish sherry vinegar
16-20 seedless green grapes (optional)
Dry almonds thoroughly. Peel garlic. Trim crust from bread slices and soak in 1-2 cups cold water. Meanwhile place garlic and almonds in a food processor or blender. Blend until smooth. Remove bread from water with a slotted spoon and squeeze out excess water. Tear bread into quarters and add with 1 tsp salt to processor or blender. While blending, slowly drizzle olive oil, then vinegar, and finally water. Taste. Adjust salt, vinegar and oil to taste. Strain through a sieve into a container or bowl, pressing as much as possible through the sieve. Chill for 2-3 hours or overnight before serving in chilled bowls or glass mugs, with grapes on side.
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