Even though it’s nowhere near as nippy in Málaga as in the UK, you definitely feel the cold more – well, at least you do if you don’t have central heating and your house is heated with a motley crew of radiators, estufas, fan-blowers and chimeneas that still bellow smoke into the room when it’s gale-force outside.

Time then to turn on the internal central heating with a bit of warming comfort food. Like a nice hot steaming bowl of soup. Sopa, right? Well, yes and no. In English we may occasionally use the word ‘broth’ or ‘clear soup’ or ‘cream of’ but generally speaking, a soup is a soup is a soup. Not so in Spanish. Where they clearly differentiate between una sopa and una crema – basically, a thinnish soup and a soup so thick you can write your name in it.

Regular sopas on your average menu del día usually boil down to (groan) sopa de marisco, which ranges from the incredibly tasty and hearty and seafood-filled to the bland and watery and you’re-lucky-if-you-can-find-a-fish-bone, or sopa de picadillo, a clear noodley affair with slivers of ham and chicken and a handful of chick peas and chunks of chopped hard-boiled egg.

Here in Málaga, there is also gazpachuelo – I’m never really sure if this is a sopa or a crema. Whatever it is, it’s definitely an acquired taste. The first time I tried it, I was not impressed. A soup made with mayonnaise? Now I’m a convert, though. How to describe it? A creamy, garlicky broth padded out with potatoes and a few prawns or chunks of fish, then topped with picatostes (chunks of fried bread). Very winter-warming indeed. There are lots of recipes out there, but here’s one.

Cremas seem to appear far less on the menu del día – except in vegetarian restaurants where they are almost de rigueur. At home, though, they are very much part of the Spanish winter kitchen. They were among the first typical dishes I ever learned to make. So simple. So truly yummy that you’ll never dream of opening another tin in your life (Well, ok, maybe Heinz tomato  …).

Basically, to make a crema, you need some veggies, olive oil and vegetable stock. Leeks, courgettes, carrots, pumpkin, spinach and broccoli can all be prepared in pretty much the same way, but you’ll want different herbs and seasonings for different vegetables. Crema de calabacin (thick courgette soup) is one of the easiest to make.

1. Slice a couple of courgettes and one small potato.
2. Heat 2 or 3 tbsp oil in a heavy-bottomed, add the vegetables and fry lightly for a few minutes.
3. Add water or vegetable stock (I never measure. The thicker you like it, the less liquid you add). You can also add a little milk.
4. Bring to the boil, turn down and simmer gently until the courgettes are soft.
5. Season, add a handful of chopped mint, and whiz up in a liquidiser or with a hand-blender.
6. For extra creaminess, throw in a couple of triangular cheeses and whiz up a bit more.
7. Serve with a little more chopped mint and perhaps a sliver or two of cured Manchego cheese.

That’s it then. Tonight’s supper sorted.

Tags: crema de calabacin, gazpachuelo, picatostes, recipe

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 1st, 2009 at 12:29 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.