Gazpachuelo Malagueño

Gazpachuelo Malagueño is Málaga's warm fish soup, and despite the name it has nothing to do with the cold red gazpacho of a hard Andalusian summer. This one is pale, gentle cocina de cuchara, spoon food: potatoes, hake, light fish broth, and a homemade mayonesa of egg and olive oil stirred in at the end. What makes it Malagueño is that egg-and-oil binding, not cream, not flour, and not a tomato in sight.

The one step that decides it is the tempering. The soup must come off the heat before the mayonnaise goes in. Ladle warm broth into the mayonesa little by little, whisking, until it loosens, then return it to the pot and never let it boil again. Boil it and it curdles. Treat it gently and it turns glossy and silky enough to coat the potato.

If you're far from Málaga, buy good frozen hake; Spanish kitchens use frozen fish without shame. Whiting or haddock works if hake is impossible; cod works at a pinch, but it's firmer and can bring more salt, so season at the end. A light fish stock from bones or prawn shells is best, but an unsalted bought stock will do if it tastes clean. No hace falta haber pisado España.

In my Margin beside this one I wrote: apartarlo del fuego primero, take it off the heat first. That is where this quiet soup succeeds. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.