One of the best ways to face low temperatures is by eating a bowl of hot soup. The problem is that there comes a point where you are tired of eating the same chicken or vegetable soup.
Luckily, there is the Gazpachuelo, which will become one of your favorite winter dishes. And it will be one of your favorite Spanish soup recipes.
Gazpachuelo is an authentic Spanish recipe and though it has centuries of history, it continues to be one of the first choices of the people from Malaga when they have to choose one soup to eat during cold days.
Continue reading this article to learn how to make this fish soup, as well as information on what ingredients you can substitute, how you can store it, and the best way to serve it.
You, dear reader, support this blog. If you purchase through a link, we earn a small commission. As an Amazon Affiliate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Background of the Dish
You probably know that Andalusia is one of the regions with more soup recipes of its own than anywhere in the world.
From lentil soups to others with other types of seafood, oxtail, even cold soups. So it shouldn’t surprise you that it was also the place where Gazpachuelo emerged.
To be more specific, the Gazpachuelo was born in Malaga hundreds of years ago and was created by the fishermen of the area.
Its name is similar to that of gazpacho because it is a hot soup that in its beginnings shared 3 fundamental ingredients; water, bread, and oil.
The recipe changed and no longer has bread in most of its cases (although you can add it if you want).
Without a doubt, this recipe stands out above other Spanish soup recipes since it is much creamier, it will make you feel fuller for longer, and it is an infallible weapon against the cold.
Pin for later!
Things You’ll Need for Gazpachuelo
The great thing about soup recipes is that you don’t need many ingredients and they are extremely easy to make.
To make this fish soup you only need a cutting board, a good knife, and a large pot as equipment.
The main ingredients are fish, prawns, water, and homemade mayonnaise (fear not, it’s much easier to make than you think).
If you want to make an Andalusian soup recipe that does not contain seafood, then you can make the Picadillo soup or the Spanish Lentil Soup with Ham.
Ingredients
- 12 cups (3 L) water
- 8 prawns
- 1 egg
- 1 Lemon
- 1/2 cup (100ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup (100 ml) sunflower oil
- 500g Potato
- 1.5kg hake
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 handful of fresh parsley
- Salt to taste
How to Make Gazpachuelo – Step by Step Guide
- The first step in this seafood soup recipe is to carefully clean the hake. You can avoid this step if you already buy the hake loin clean and without bones.
- Then, peel and cut the potatoes into equal-sized pieces. Peel the prawns and reserve the bodies. Place in a large saucepan the prawn shells, the potato pieces, the bay leaf, and the chopped parsley. Add the water and bring to a boil. Boil over low heat while foaming for 30 minutes.
- In the meantime, cut the hake into small pieces and reserve it together with the prawn carcasses. Once the broth is ready, strain it and transfer it to another clean saucepan along with the potatoes and cook it for 10-12 minutes.
- Now is the time to prepare the mayonnaise. Put the egg in the processor, add the juice of a lemon, a pinch of salt, and the oil. Turn on the mixer and run until the consistency of mayonnaise forms. You can skip this by using 400g of mayonnaise.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and separate a couple of mini bowls of the broth.
- Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl and add a small amount of hot broth. This must be done little by little and stir gently to prevent the mayonnaise from cutting. Repeat it as many times as necessary until you incorporate all the broth you have reserved.
- Add the hake and prawns to the pan, they will cook quickly from the residual heat. Wait a couple of minutes before adding the mayonnaise mixture to the saucepan. Do it slowly, little by little, and mix gently to avoid cutting the mayonnaise.
- Serve warm and decorate your fish soup with chopped fresh parsley.
Substitution of Ingredients
Something that makes seafood soup recipes so popular is the fact that you can make hundreds of substitutions in the ingredients, and still have a delicious soup.
If you want to make this fish soup recipe, here are some of the most common substitutions that you can make.
You can replace the hake with cod or any other white fish. You can also make this Spanish fish soup with salmon, but the cooking time should be a few more minutes longer.
For this Spanish seafood soup, you can replace the prawns with shrimp. Some people even add all sorts of seafood such as crawfish, lobster, or crab.
This recipe calls for making homemade mayonnaise, which is super simple and you shouldn’t be intimidated by it.
However, you can skip that step by using 400g to 500g of store-bought mayonnaise or cream cheese (it’ll do the trick but it’s not the classic Gazpachuelo version).
Lastly, you can take inspiration from the Spanish chicken soup recipe and add more vegetables, such as chopped carrots, peas, onions, minced garlic, etc.
This is a perfect way to give the typical Gazpachuelo a modern twist.
Tips on Serving Gazpachuelo
To serve this Spanish fish soup, one of the best tips you can use is to grate some hard cheese (it can be Parmesan or any of your choice) and add it to the soup on top.
This is fantastic since the cheese pairs so well with the fish and potatoes.
You can also take inspiration from the Spanish shrimp soup to serve this one.
Use the shells of the shrimp or prawns you used to make your soup as decoration.
It’s not something I like, but a lot of people enjoy eating it like a lobster shell and trying to find some of the meat that’s left.
If you want this to be a full Andalusian soup, you can make some toasts to go with it.
Just cut slices of your favorite type of bread, brush it with olive oil, and add some pieces of minced garlic.
Take them to the oven for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Then serve along with the soup.
Take some inspiration for your next cold soup from our 15 Best Spanish Cold Soups for Summer.
How to Store Gazpachuelo
Something usually happens with fish chowder is that it isn’t recommended that they be frozen or stored in the refrigerator.
However, with this fish chowder recipe, you will be able to store it for a longer amount of time.
This is thanks to the fat that mayonnaise provides, which allows it to last longer.
If you want to store this Spanish soup recipe, what you can do is keep it in the fridge for 3 days (if you keep it longer your whole fridge will smell fishy). You can also freeze it for 15 days.
It is not recommended to store it for a longer time, otherwise, the potato will absorb the smell of the freezer, and your soup will lose the delicious flavor characteristic of the Gazpachuelo.
Recipe Card: Gazpachuelo Recipe
Gazpachuelo Recipe
One of the best ways to face low temperatures is by eating a bowl of hot soup.
The problem is that there comes a point where you are tired of eating the same chicken or vegetable soup.
Gazpachuelo is an authentic Spanish recipe and though it has centuries of history, it continues to be one of the first choices of the people of southern Spain for cold days.
Ingredients
- 12 cups (3 L) water
- 8 prawns
- 1 egg
- 1 Lemon
- 1/2 cup (100ml) extra virgin olive oil
- 1/2 cup (100 ml) sunflower oil
- 500g Potato
- 1.5kg hake
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 handful of fresh parsley
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- To make the Gazpachuelo, first, clean the hake. You can avoid this step if you already buy the hake loin clean and without bones.
- Peel and cut the potatoes into equal-sized pieces. Peel the prawns and reserve the bodies. Place in a large saucepan the prawn shells, the potato pieces, the bay leaf, and the chopped parsley. Add the water and bring to a boil. Boil over low heat while foaming for 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut the hake into small pieces and reserve it together with the prawn carcasses. Once the broth is ready, strain it and transfer it to another clean saucepan along with the potatoes and cook it for 10-12 minutes.
- Now prepare the mayonnaise. Put the egg in the processor, add the juice of a lemon, a pinch of salt, and the oil. Turn on the mixer and run until the consistency of mayonnaise forms.
- Remove the saucepan from the heat and separate a couple of mini bowls of the broth.
- Transfer the mayonnaise to a bowl and add a small amount of hot broth. This must be done little by little and stir gently to prevent the mayonnaise from cutting. Repeat that as many times as necessary until you incorporate all the broth you have reserved.
- Add the hake and prawns to the pan, they will cook quickly from the residual heat. Wait a couple of minutes before adding the mayonnaise mixture to the saucepan. Do it slowly, little by little, and mix gently to avoid cutting the mayonnaise.
- Serve the Gazpachuelo warm and decorate with a little chopped fresh parsley.
Notes
The traditional version of this Spanish soup calls for homemade mayonnaise (also known as mahonesa or mayonesa in Andalusia).
However, you can skip that step and use store-bought mayonnaise instead. You will need from 400 to 500g for this amount of Spanish seafood soup.
As well as other fish soup recipes, you can play with the type of fish that you use. For example, instead of prawns add shrimps, replace the hake with cod, etc.
So basically, feel free to let your imagination fly while making this seafood soup recipe, the final result will be amazing since it is a staple recipe.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 426Total Fat 15gCholesterol 44mgSodium 561mgCarbohydrates 55gFiber 1gSugar 3gProtein 15g
You can’t get enough of our Gazpachuelo recipe? Have a look at our Google Story here.
Hola, I’m Paulina! Together with my team, we are passionate about Southern Spain. Here we share all you need to know for great times in Southern Spain with the best places to visit, stay and, of course, the best food to eat.
Let’s dive in and explore Southern Spain’s outdoors, food and culture con pasión!