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Andalucía

Sevilla · Triana · Córdoba · Granada · Málaga · Cádiz

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Salmorejo cordobés

Descubre

Córdoba’s salmorejo turns ripe tomatoes, bread, garlic, and olive oil into a smooth, cool dish. It is an inviting way to explore Andalucía through texture and a short ingredient list.

La Gente

Blend thoroughly and add the oil as directed to build a smooth emulsion. Chill before serving, then finish with the suggested garnishes. The bread gives body while the tomato keeps the dish bright.

Sabor

Andalucía cooks with olive oil, garlic, and the spice cupboard the Moors left behind: cumin above all, then pimentón, a little saffron, and the sweetness of almonds and citrus. Vinegar sharpens the cold dishes. Salt and frying do the rest. It is a warm-spiced kitchen with very little heat and a great deal of fragrance.

Spice DNA · Herb low · Sweet low · Smoke low · Heat none · Acid medium

Seasonings to explore

• Minced Garlic in Olive Oil. In the salmorejo, in the spinach, in the pescaíto's marinade. Adds a savory garlic base.
• Cumin, ground. In the espinacas con garbanzos. The spice of the south.
• Paprika. Pimentón dulce, in the spinach.
• Smoked Paprika. A pinch for the families who use the smoked pimentón.
• Black Pepper, ground. On the salmorejo, lightly.
• Bay leaves, whole. For cooking the chickpeas.

From your market: very ripe tomatoes, a day-old loaf of good white bread, the best olive oil you can afford, serrano or ibérico ham, eggs, fresh spinach, dried or canned chickpeas, sherry vinegar, and for the pescaíto, small fish and a bag of coarse flour. Badia does not sell the olive oil. Buy the Spanish one. Andalucía would say buy the one from Jaén.

Cocina

Salmorejo cordobés

Cold tomato and bread cream, thick enough to stand a spoon in. Five ingredients. No shortcuts, no water.

Serves 4

• 2 lb very ripe tomatoes
• 7 oz day-old white bread, crusts removed
• 1 tsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 1 small garlic clove, germ removed
• ½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1½ tsp salt
• Pinch of Badia Black Pepper, ground
• 2 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
• 3 oz serrano or ibérico ham, chopped fine

1. The tomatoes. Score them, blanch 30 seconds, chill in ice water, peel, core, and blend to a purée.
2. The bread. Tear the bread into the tomato purée and let it soak 15 minutes. No water. The bread drinks the tomato.
3. Blend. Add the garlic and salt. Blend at full speed 3 to 4 minutes, longer than seems reasonable, until it is completely smooth. With the motor running, pour in the olive oil in a thin stream until it emulsifies and turns pale orange.
4. Chill. At least 2 hours. Taste again cold; it will want a little more salt.
5. Serve. In a shallow bowl, with the egg and the ham over the top and a thread of oil. A grind of pepper. Bread on the side, and a very cold glass of something from Jerez.

Espinacas con garbanzos

The taberna plate of Sevilla. Spinach and chickpeas, cumin and pimentón, and fried bread mashed in to bind it.

Serves 4

• 2 cups cooked chickpeas, with ½ cup of their liquid (simmered with 1 Badia Bay Leaf if cooking from dry)
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 thick slices of day-old bread
• 2 tbsp Badia Minced Garlic in Olive Oil, or 4 garlic cloves sliced
• 1 tsp Badia Cumin, ground
• 1 tsp Badia Paprika
• ¼ tsp Badia Smoked Paprika, optional
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• 1 lb fresh spinach, washed
• Salt

1. Fry the bread. Warm the oil in a wide pan over medium. Fry the bread until golden on both sides. Remove. Fry the garlic in the same oil until just gold. Remove.
2. The majado. In a mortar or a small processor, pound the fried bread and garlic with the cumin, paprikas, and vinegar into a rough paste. Loosen with a spoon of the chickpea liquid.
3. The spinach. In the same pan, wilt the spinach with a pinch of salt, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and their liquid.
4. Bring it together. Stir the majado into the pan. Simmer 5 minutes until the chickpeas are coated and the whole thing has thickened into something between a stew and a spread. Salt.
5. Serve warm, with more bread, and a hard-boiled egg on top for the ones who insist. In Sevilla it is a tapa. At home it is dinner.

Pueblos de Andalucía

Sevilla · Triana · Córdoba · Granada · Málaga · Cádiz · Jerez de la Frontera · El Puerto de Santa María · Sanlúcar de Barrameda · Huelva · Jaén · Úbeda · Baeza · Almería · Ronda · Antequera · Écija · Carmona · Marbella · Nerja · Jabugo

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