Tarator Soup Recipe
Tarator is a cold soup, popular in the summertime in Albania, Bulgaria and the Republic of Macedonia. It is made of yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, walnuts, dill, vegetable oil, and water. It is best served chilled or even with ice. Local variations may replace yogurt with water and vinegar, omit nuts or dill, or add bread. The cucumbers may on rare occasions be replaced with lettuce or carrots.
Tarator is consumed in Albania similarly to other countries. However, water, nuts, fruits and dill aren’t used. Olive oil is often used in place of vegetable oil. In a different variation, this dish is enriched with a plain omelet, cut into little pieces and added to the mixture. Due to the richness the eggs add, this variation of tarator may be consumed as a main course.
Tarator is a popular dish in Bulgaria; a salad version of tarator is known as “Snow White salad”. It is made of thick yogurt and no water. It can be served as an appetizer or as a side to the main meal.
In Greece, a similar meal is known as tzatziki. Tzatziki usually contains olive oil, parsley and mint in addition to the ingredients listed above. The word used for the Cypriot variant, ttalattouri, derives from the word tarator via Turkish.
An similar dish in Iran called Maast-O-Khiar contains chopped onions instead of garlic and may also contain black pepper and raisins.
In the former Yougoslavian Republic of Macedonia, tarator is a popular appetizer (meze) but also served as a side dish along with Shopska salad with most meals. Sunflower and olive oil are more commonly used and walnuts are sometimes omitted.
The Turkish variant, cacık, is similar to the salad version. It has a rich consistency and is served as a meze. On the south coast of Turkey, it is served with fried squid and includes yoghurt, lemon, walnut, olive oil, bread and garlic.
Recipe
To prepare tarator you need 1 fresh cucumber or 4-5 pickles, 1/2 kilogram of yoghurt, 1-2 cloves of garlic, some walnuts, some dill, salt, 2 teaspoons vegetable oil of your choice (sunflower oil is typically used), and water (depending on the thickness desired).
Preparation: Grate or finely chop the cucumbers and place in a large bowl. Mash the garlic with salt and add to the cucumber. Add ground walnuts and finely chopped fresh dill. Pour in the yoghurt. Then gradually add water — the thickness is down to taste. Finally, add the vegetable oil.
To prepare the salad version of tarator, follow the same instructions but do not add water. For thick consistency, the yoghurt can be strained in a cloth or paper bag or filter, traditionally made of muslin, to remove the whey. As a quick alternative, one can add several tablespoons of sour cream to regular yoghurt.
Gazpacho Soup Recipe
Gazpacho is a cold Spanish tomato-based raw vegetable soup, originating in the southern region of Andalusia. Gazpacho is widely consumed throughout Spain, neighboring Portugal (where it is known as gaspacho) and parts of Latin America. Gazpacho is mostly consumed during the summer months, due to its refreshing qualities.
History
It descends from an ancient Andalusian liquid concoction based on a combination of stale bread, garlic, olive oil, salt, and vinegar.[1] Tomato was added to the recipe after it was brought to Europe after the Columbian Exchange which began in 1492.
Ingredients and preparation
In Andalusia, most gazpacho recipes typically include tomato, cucumber, red and green pepper, onion, garlic, soaked stale bread, fresh parsley, olive oil, Sherry Vinegar, chilled water and salt. Some may also include lemon juice and sugar.
The following is a typical method of preparing gazpacho:
1. The vegetables are washed and the tomatoes, garlic and onions are peeled.
2. All the vegetables and herbs are chopped and put into a large container.
3. The soaked bread is then added.
4. The contents of the container is then blended until liquid.
5. The chilled water, olive oil, vinegar and salt is then added to taste.
Traditionally gazpacho is made by pounding the vegetables using a mortar and pestle. This method is still sometimes favoured as it helps keep the gazpacho cool.
In addition to the blended vegetable ingredients, it is also usually accompanied by different garnishes. These include the same vegetables the soup already contains, chopped up, as well as croutons and chopped hard boiled egg.[2] The garnishes are served in separately so the consumer can add them to the soup themselves. Sometimes, ham (e.g. jamón serrano, jamón ibérico, etc.) can also be found amongst the garnishes. In Extremadura, gazpacho with local ham is called gazpacho extremeño. This time, the ham tends to be added to the soup in the kitchen prior to serving (unlike the other garnishes which are added at the table).
Gazpacho may also by served with ice cubes if it has not had enough time to chill before serving.
On a side note, it is the name of a Character from “Chowder” a popular children’s show where all the characters are named after some sort of food.
Variations
Gazpacho recipes can vary greatly in terms of ingredient composition, texture and viscosity. This usually depends on the geographical location as well as family traditions.
Similar cold raw soups such as salmorejo and ajoblanco, are also popular in Andalusia, although not as widespread as gazpacho.
A completely different dish to traditional gazpacho is gazpacho manchego. As the name implies, it seems to have originated from the Spanish region of La Mancha, but it is also popular in other areas in the center and southwest of the country. Rather than a cold soup, it is a meat stew. The main ingredients are rabbit and flat bread, and may also include mushrooms.
Chilean cazuelas
Cazuela is the name of a South American Spanish-originated soup. It’s a mid-thick rich flavoured stock obtained from cooking several kinds of meats and vegetables mixed together.
Chilean cazuelas
The most common types of Cazuelas in Chile are the chicken or beef, but there’s also another types made from pork and turkey.
The typical Cazuela in one dish contains: a piece of meat (it can be a piece of rib or several pieces of bones, in the case of beef, or a leg of chicken), a potato, a piece of pumpkin, and the stock obtained from boiling this. Complementary to these components can be: cooked rice (in the stock), small-sized noodles, green beans, celery, sliced carrots, baby onions, garlic, baby cabbage, among others. In summer the cazuela is accompanied by a big yellow piece of sweetcorn, cooked apart or in the same stock. The cazuela is typically eaten by consuming the liquid stock first, then eating the meat and larger vegetables (e.g. potatoes, large piece of squash or carrot) last. However, the meat and larger vegetables can also be sliced up within the liquid stock and can be eaten simultaneously with the liquid stock.
Ajiaco Soup
This is a potato soup from Colombia. Although several regions of Colombia have their distinct recipe, the most famous is ajiaco santafereño, named after Santa Fé de Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, where it is a cultural mainstay. It typically contains pieces of chicken on the bone, large chunks of corn on the cob, two or three kinds of native potatoes (tiny papas criollas that fall apart and thicken the soup, the waxy sabanera and/or the soft pastusa), and guasca (Galinsoga parviflora), a weedy, aromatic herb common in all America that lends the dish part of its distinctive flavour.
The soup is typically served with heavy cream, capers and avocado, all mixed in just before eating in the proportions each individual prefers. Ajiaco is so heavy that, served with a side of white rice, it is usually considered a full meal. In the highly regional Colombian cuisine, this is the dish most representative of Bogotá.
In recent years, guascas have become easier to find in Latin American groceries in the US. Though purists may insist on using genuine guascas, others might substitute oregano in a pinch.
Soups called ajiaco can be found in other regions of Latin America, though some share almost nothing with the traditional bogotano recipe apart from the name. The name is likely derivative of the word ají, a Taíno word for “hot pepper” which has become generalized in South American Spanish (equivalent to chile in Mexican Spanish). Though the modern Colombian ajiaco contains no ají, it is probably derived from spicier indigenous dishes.
Ajiaco is also a Cuban recipe, a kind of stew. Cuban ethnologist Fernando Ortiz once defined the country as an ajiaco, alluding to the role that Spanish, African and Chinese cultures had in the definition of the national identity. For Cubans, ajiaco also means something that contains many ingredients.
Sundubu Soup
Sundubu jjigae is a hot and spicy jjigae (Korean stew) made with uncurdled dubu (tofu), seafood, vegetables, mushrooms, onion, green onion, and gochujang or gochu garu (chili powder) in Korean cuisine. A raw egg is put in the jjigae while it is still boiling. This dish is eaten with a bowl of cooked white rice and several banchan (side dishes). It is widely eaten and one of the favorite meals in South Korea.