Fear not cherished reader, I’m not about to become (or really capable of becoming) a food blogger. But once in a rare while, I may become convinced that I have something worth sharing — for instance, today. The title dish was part of a fabulous meal I had (and loved) at a restaurant in Seville, but for which an exact recipe is not found easily online.
Spain’s not an easy place to travel as a vegetarian. In fact, it’s probably the least vegetarian-friendly place I’ve traveled to so far. This likely has to do with the well-documented Spanish love affair with jamón in its myriad forms. Also, unlike other parts of Western Europe, vegetarianism never took off in the way it has in Germany, Benelux or the UK. (Historical sidenote: this apparently has to do with the Franco era overlapping with the 60s. The regime associated vegetarianism with leftism/hippies and clamped down on it along with many other related movements and activities. And alas, la movida did not result in a commensurate interest in vegetarianism among madrileños in the 1980s).
All that being said, there are a handful of vegetarian and vegetarian/vegan-friendly restaurants scattered throughout most major Spanish cities. They don’t specifically cater to tourists, and have surprisingly vigorous local followings, but usually have english-language menus and are friendly enough to desperate travelers. Our story begins on a pleasant December day in Seville. In preparation for our trip, I had handy a list of vegetarian places in town, and their vague locations on a map. Our destination for lunch was Centro Ecologico Gaia, tucked on a side-street a few kilometers from Barrio Santa Cruz and the more touristed parts of the city. Service was brisk and friendly, with a restrained 60s hippie-meets-contemporary modern decor. It appeared to be a family restaurant (as many are in the region), and was reasonably full with locals including various groups of professionals out for a late lunch.
My first course, which is the subject of this post, was Salmorejo (an Andalucian variant of gazpacho) con Remolacha (beets). It caught my eye in the menu right away (I love beets!) and was simply perfect: a delicious, hearty reward for the long trek out to the restaurant. Several months later, I decided to make this soup for a potluck dinner. Finding an exact recipe in English was a bit difficult, so I pieced together a couple of different recipes to get it right:
Serves 6.
Ingredients:
- 1.5 lb cooked beets
- 1-1.5 medium onions
- 3 lb tomatoes
- 1-2 cloves garlic
- 1/3-1/2 loaf of stale bread
- 12-15 tbsp olive oil
- 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
- 500 ml vegetable stock (optional)
- Crème fraîche to garnish (optional)
- Sea salt and freshly-ground black pepper
- Pinch of saffron (optional)
- Place beets, tomatoes, onions, garlic and bread into blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
- Add olive oil, white wine vinegar and stock, and puree/blend again.
- Season to taste with salt and pepper. Add a pinch of saffron (this is one of my modifications — this dish does not normally merit saffron since it’s meant to be a functional soup throwing together whatever’s leftover at the end of the week).
- Chill soup in fridge for 2-3 hours.
- Serve in bowls, garnished lightly with crème fraîche (optional) and a drizzle of olive oil.
