Chef Isabel
Aguaillo de la Sierra de Cadiz
Aguaillo is from the Sierra de Cadiz: cold water, stale bread, garlic, oil and vinegar, closer to a field drink than a bowl of soup, and sharp enough to wake you in the heat.
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Zoque Malagueño
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Zoque Malagueño is Málaga's summer gazpacho with carrot in the blend: tomato-red, lightly sweet, no cucumber or onion, and only good oil, bread, garlic, and vinegar to make it creamy.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Make Ahead
Outdoor Dining
Weeknight
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•2 hr 20 min total
Yield4 to 6 servings
Zoque Malagueño is Málaga's cold gazpacho, Andaluz with its own surname: ripe tomato, sweet carrot, bread, garlic, vinegar, and olive oil, with no cucumber and no onion. That is what keeps it from tasting like the neighbor's gazpacho poured into another glass. It is softer, a little sweeter, and still sharp enough from the vinegar to wake you up in the heat.
Make it only when the tomatoes are worth eating raw. The method that decides it is the blending: break down the carrot completely with the tomato first, then pour in the oil slowly while the blender runs. That slow oil is what gives the zoque its creamy body without making it heavy. Rush it and you get a rough vegetable drink, not this.
If you are far from Málaga, no hace falta haber pisado España. Use the ripest field tomatoes you can buy, a sweet young carrot, and day-old country bread if you cannot find pan cateto. Vinagre de Jerez is right here, but a good Spanish wine vinegar will do; it will taste a little less nutty, that's all. Chill it hard, taste it cold, and serve it with only a thread of oil. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Zoque belongs to Málaga and to the Andalusian family of cold bread, garlic, oil, vinegar, and water soups that fed people through hard summer heat. In Málaga, carrot became one of the local marks of the dish, giving sweetness and body while keeping it lighter than porra antequerana and different from the cucumber-led gazpachos made elsewhere. It sits in the same southern larder as ajoblanco and gazpacho Andaluz, each one answering heat, stale bread, and the market's best produce in its own way.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
ripe tomatoes
Quantity
1kg
cored and roughly chopped
sweet carrots
Quantity
250g
peeled and thinly sliced or grated
day-old pan cateto or rustic white bread
Quantity
60g
crust removed
garlic
Quantity
1 small clove
germ removed
vinagre de Jerez or good Spanish wine vinegar
Quantity
35ml
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
100ml, plus more to finish
fine sea salt
Quantity
10g, plus more to taste
very cold water
Quantity
200ml, plus more if needed
diced ripe tomato (optional)
Quantity
2 tablespoons
grated carrot (optional)
Quantity
1 tablespoon
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| ripe tomatoescored and roughly chopped | 1kg |
| sweet carrotspeeled and thinly sliced or grated | 250g |
| day-old pan cateto or rustic white breadcrust removed | 60g |
| garlicgerm removed | 1 small clove |
| vinagre de Jerez or good Spanish wine vinegar | 35ml |
| extra virgin olive oil | 100ml, plus more to finish |
| fine sea salt | 10g, plus more to taste |
| very cold water | 200ml, plus more if needed |
| diced ripe tomato (optional) | 2 tablespoons |
| grated carrot (optional) | 1 tablespoon |
Equipment Needed
- •Strong blender
- •Fine sieve
- •Box grater if the blender is small
- •Covered jug for chilling
Instructions
- 1
Soak the bread
Tear the day-old bread into pieces and soak it in 100ml of the cold water for five minutes. It should soften all the way through, not float about dry in the blender. This bread gives the zoque its body, so weigh it; too much and you have porra, too little and the soup drinks thin.
If your bread is very hard, give it ten minutes in the water. Squeeze it lightly before blending if it has taken up too much. - 2
Blend the vegetables
Put the tomatoes, carrots, garlic, soaked bread, salt, vinegar, and the remaining 100ml cold water into a strong blender. Blend until the carrot has disappeared into the tomato, a full two to three minutes. Raw carrot needs time under the blade; if you stop early, the zoque will feel sandy on the tongue.
- 3
Emulsify the oil
With the blender running, pour in the olive oil slowly in a thin stream. Let it run another minute after the oil is in. The colour will lighten slightly and the soup will turn glossy and creamy without cream, tal como se hace allí.
- 4
Sieve and thin
Pass the zoque through a fine sieve if your blender has left tomato skin or carrot fiber behind. Taste it now, but don't finish the seasoning yet. If it is too thick to pour, add cold water a spoonful at a time until it falls from the ladle like light cream.
- 5
Chill and serve
Cover and chill for at least two hours. Taste again when it is properly cold, because cold dulls salt and vinegar, and adjust with a pinch of salt or a few drops of vinegar. Serve in small bowls or glasses with a thread of olive oil, and if you like, a little diced tomato and grated carrot. No cucumber, no onion. That belongs to another gazpacho.
Chef Tips
- •Make zoque only when tomatoes are heavy, fragrant, and worth eating raw. If they are pale and hard, wait; Málaga has ajoblanco for the weeks before tomato season comes good.
- •Use sweet, fresh carrots, not big woody ones that have sat too long. If your blender is modest, grate the carrot first on the small holes. That costs the dish nothing and saves you a gritty soup.
- •Vinagre de Jerez gives the clean Andalusian edge here. If you cannot find it, use a good Spanish red or white wine vinegar, not balsamic. Balsamic makes the zoque sweet in the wrong direction.
- •Serve it very cold but not icy. Ice cubes water it down as they melt. Chill the jug and the glasses instead, and stir before pouring.
Advance Preparation
- •Zoque is best made at least two hours ahead so it can chill hard and settle.
- •It keeps covered in the refrigerator for up to two days. Stir well and re-taste for salt and vinegar before serving.
- •The vegetables can be washed, chopped, and chilled the morning you make it; blend only when you are ready so the tomato stays bright.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 270g)
Calories
235 calories
Total Fat
16 g
Saturated Fat
2 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
0 mg
Sodium
660 mg
Total Carbohydrates
18 g
Dietary Fiber
5 g
Sugars
9 g
Protein
3 g
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