Gazpachos Manchegos

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Wide heavy cazuela, gazpachera, or Dutch oven, about 30cm
• •Tongs
• •Wooden spoon
• •Ladle

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the meat

   Pat the rabbit and partridge dry. Season them with 8g of the salt and the black pepper. Heat 40ml of the olive oil in a wide heavy cazuela or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, then brown the meat in batches until the edges are deep golden, about 10 to 12 minutes total. Do not crowd the pot. The browned bits are the first layer of the broth, and a pale broth makes a pale gazpacho.

   If using quail, brown them well and lift them out after browning; return them for the last 25 minutes of the simmer so they stay tender. Chicken thighs can stay in with the rabbit.
2. 2

   Cook the sofrito

   Lower the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 30ml olive oil, the onion, green pepper, and 2g salt. Cook slowly for 15 minutes, stirring often, until the onion is dark gold and jammy at the edges. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute. Add the grated tomato and cook 12 to 15 minutes more, until the liquid is gone and the oil shows around the sofrito. Take the pot off the heat, stir in the pimentón, then return it to the heat. Pimentón burns fast, and burnt pimentón tastes bitter. There, that is the whole warning.

3. 3

   Simmer the broth

   Return the browned rabbit and partridge to the pot, unless you are holding back quail. Add the bay leaves, thyme, saffron if using, and 1.75 litres water. Bring it up to a gentle simmer, skim once, then partly cover and cook until the rabbit is tender and the broth tastes of the meat, 55 to 75 minutes. If using quail, add them after the first 35 minutes. Keep the simmer steady, not violent; hard boiling breaks the meat and muddies the broth.

4. 4

   Set the broth

   Lift the meat out to a tray. Pull the larger pieces from the bones in generous bites, leaving a few bone-in pieces if your table likes them that way, and return the meat to the pot. Discard the bay leaves and thyme stems. Add the mushrooms if using and simmer 8 minutes. You want about 1.25 litres of broth in the pot before the torta goes in; add a little water if the stew has reduced too far. Taste now. It should be a little more seasoned than soup, because the torta will drink the salt down.

5. 5

   Add the torta

   Bring the pot to a lively simmer and scatter in the broken torta cenceña. Press the pieces under the broth and stir gently, not as if you are beating porridge. Cook 10 to 14 minutes, until the torta has swollen and softened but still has a little chew in the middle. This is the step that decides the dish. Too early and it collapses. Too late and it tastes separate from the broth.

   If you are using unsalted matzo or a homemade flatbread that is thinner than torta cenceña, start checking after 5 minutes. It softens faster and breaks more easily.
6. 6

   Rest and serve

   Turn off the heat and let the gazpachos rest 5 minutes. The surface should be glossy, with enough broth to move around the spoon, not dry and stiff. Serve in shallow bowls or straight from the cazuela, with meat, torta, and broth in every serving. Pésalo, no lo adivines, and it comes out.

Chef Tips

• •Buy torta cenceña under the names tortas de gazpacho or torta para gazpachos. It should be dry, thin, wheat-based, and unleavened. Soft pita or fresh flatbread swells like sponge and gives you the wrong texture.
• •If you cannot buy torta cenceña, make it: mix 250g plain flour with 150ml water and 4g salt, knead smooth, roll very thin, and bake on trays at 220C until dry and lightly golden. Cool it completely before breaking it into pieces.
• •Wild rabbit, hare, and partridge give the deepest broth. Farmed rabbit with quail is the easiest good version far from La Mancha. Bone-in chicken thighs are the plain substitute; the broth will be milder, so brown them properly and let the sofrito go dark.
• •Use fresh tomato only if it is ripe enough to grate and smell sweet. For a cooked sofrito, good canned crushed tomato is better than a hard winter tomato. Sourcing wins.
• •Stop cooking while the pot still looks a little loose. The torta keeps drinking after the heat is off. Leftovers are good, but softer; loosen them with a splash of water and reheat gently.
• •Drink a young Tempranillo or Garnacha from La Mancha with it, not something heavy with oak. This is a shepherd's pot, not a boardroom dinner.

Advance Preparation

• •The stew can be made up to the end of the broth stage one day ahead. Cool it, refrigerate it, and add the torta only when you are ready to serve.
• •Break the torta cenceña into pieces a day ahead and keep it dry in a tin or bag. Moisture is what ruins its clean bite.
• •Homemade torta cenceña can be baked two days ahead. Let it cool completely before storing, or it will soften in its own warmth.
• •Leftovers keep 2 days in the refrigerator. Reheat with a little water, knowing the torta will be softer than the first day.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 620g)