Salad Andalucia Recipes

CLASSIC ANDALUSIAN GAZPACHO

Steps:

• Soak bread in 1/2 cup water 1 minute, then squeeze dry, discarding soaking water.
• Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste, bread, 2 tablespoons vinegar, sugar, cumin, and half of tomatoes in a food processor until tomatoes are very finely chopped. Add remaining tomatoes with motor running and, when very finely chopped, gradually add oil in a slow stream, blending until as smooth as possible, about 1 minute.
• Force soup through a sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.
• Transfer to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

ANDALUSIAN POTATO SALAD

Steps:

• Place the potatoes in a medium-size saucepan, add enough cold water to cover them by 2 inches, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the potatoes, partially covered, until they are completely tender when pricked with a skewer, 30 to 35 minutes. Drain the potatoes. When just cool enough to handle, peel the potatoes and cut them into a very fine dice.
• Place the diced potatoes and the onion, Italian pepper, tomato, scallion, 1/3 cup of the olive oil, and 6 tablespoons of the vinegar in a bowl and stir to mix. Season with salt to taste. Toss everything together, crushing the potatoes slightly, so that they are half mashed. Let the salad stand for about 2 hours to absorb the dressing. Taste and add more vinegar as necessary.
• To serve, spread the potato salad on a serving plate, sprinkle with parsley on top, then drizzle the remaining oil over it.