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Spanish · Málaga, Andalusia

Gazpachuelo malagueño: warm emulsified fish soup

One of the most unusual soups in Spanish cooking — a warm fish broth stabilised with mayonnaise, producing a creamy, emulsified, warm-cold experience that defies easy categorisation. The name deliberately invokes gazpacho (the cold soup) but the technique is entirely different: a fish broth is made and brought to serving temperature, then mayonnaise is whisked in off the heat to emulsify without scrambling. The result is silky, slightly sharp from the vinegar in the mayonnaise, and rich. Gazpachuelo is a fisherman's dish from Málaga — made on the boats with potato, fresh fish, and whatever oil and vinegar the crew had. The mayonnaise version is the more refined urban adaptation.

‹Swipe for the next dish›
ServesFour portions
Sourced1of 4 in BC
Cook
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I

The Market List

The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.

For the broth
1 litre
white fish stock
made from white fish frames
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
300 g
potato
pre-cooked, sliced or diced
Origin · FranceLekker · Vancouver →
For the fish
400 g
white fish
cod, monkfish, or whitefish, cooked separately
Your own market
For the emulsion
150 g
mayonnaise
full-flavoured, slightly sharp; good-quality commercial acceptable
Your own market

Each tap is counted, so the stockist sees the demand Provenance sends them.

II

The Method

1
Bring the fish stock to a gentle simmer in a wide saucepan. Add the pre-cooked potato and warm through. The broth should be fully hot but not boiling — the surface should shiver, not roll.
2
Cook the fish separately — poached in a little salted water or steamed — until it just flakes when pressed. Remove from the heat and keep warm apart from the broth.
3
Remove the broth from the heat. This is where the dish lives or dies: the broth must be hot but not boiling — above 85 °C the eggs in the mayonnaise scramble. Working quickly and continuously, whisk the mayonnaise into the hot broth in a steady stream until the soup is pale, creamy, and lightly thickened. The surface should appear uniform and silky, with no threads or curds visible.
4
Taste and correct the seasoning with care — the mayonnaise contributes richness and some saltiness. The broth should be lightly sharp from the vinegar in the mayonnaise and decidedly rich without heaviness.
5
Ladle the emulsified broth with its potato into warm bowls. Lay the separately cooked fish on top as a floating element — it must not be submerged or stirred into the emulsified broth. The surface of each bowl should be pale and smooth, the fish pieces resting cleanly above it.
III

Quality Hierarchy

01
Reserve — Stock made to order from the frames of a single fine white fish; mayonnaise made by hand with a good-quality white-wine vinegar; the fish a premium fillet of monkfish or line-caught cod.
02
Estate — A carefully made fish stock from a fishmonger's fresh frames; a reliable hand-whisked or artisan mayonnaise; fresh cod or monkfish from a known supplier.
03
Market — A good-quality chilled or frozen fish stock; a full-flavoured commercial mayonnaise; fresh supermarket cod, monkfish, or whitefish of decent provenance.
04
House — Stock from a cube or concentrate; standard commercial mayonnaise; any firm, mild white fish available — the technique still rewards attention at this level.
IV

Sensory Tests

◇Sight. The broth surface shivers but does not roll — it is hot enough to receive the mayonnaise without scrambling it.
◇Sight. After whisking, the soup is pale, creamy, and uniformly smooth — no threads, curds, or broken pools of oil visible.
◇Touch. The fish flakes cleanly under gentle finger pressure — it is cooked through but not falling apart.
◇Smell. A light, sharp note of vinegar rises from the finished bowl alongside the savoury depth of the fish stock.
◇Where it lives or dies. The broth must be hot but not boiling when the mayonnaise is whisked in — above 85 °C the eggs scramble and the emulsion is lost.
Pillar V
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The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
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VI

What to Pour

Manzanilla or fino sherry — the saline, oxidative dryness of either cuts the richness of the emulsified broth and echoes the dish's coastal Andalusian character.

The whole pairing
Pillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
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Sourced through Provenance

The hands behind the plate.

Lekker
Vancouver · potato
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