It's billed as Gazpacho Extremeño. Extremeño means ‘of Extremadura,’ the western region of Spain bordering Portugal. But it’s OK with me if you read it as EXTREME, because we’ve just made an extreme change of location and diet. We traveled here from Tarragona in the east after two full weeks in Catalunya (including Barcelona, Costa Brava, the Priorat region, Lleida up into the Pyrenees, and the Costa Daurada area around Tarragona)–two weeks immersed in all things Catalan.
When we sat down in the Plaza Mayor of Cárceres, the capital of Extremadura and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, we felt as far from Catalunya, culturally, as we could get, and still be in Spain. Around 10 p.m., we walked into the center of the medieval town, and found inviting outdoor seating at the restaurant Jardín de Ulloa in front of the towering San Francisco Xavier Church. We ordered typical dishes: a plate of Iberian Jamon Bellota to share, plus gazpacho and a small orange salad tossed with cod shavings and black olives.
The gazpacho was an eye opener: a fresh faint green color, garlic aroma, and completely distinct from the tomato based version from Andalucia to the south. The menu describes the gazpacho as “Extremadura style with garlic, egg, and tempura style asparagus.” The restaurant’s chef kindly shared the recipe. Your guess on quantities is as good as mine. Let us know how it works in your kitchen!
Some posts on Travel Past 50 may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of those links, we may earn a small commission. As an Amazon associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
Gazpacho Extremeño
Ingredients
Olive Oil
2 eggs
5 cloves of garlic
1 liter water
Vinegar
Salt
Wild Asparagus (fresh green asparagus)
Bread (2 slices)
Method
1. Fry the cloves of garlic in the oil and then remove and save the garlic
2. With the same oil, fry the eggs, reserving the oil
3. Blend together the fried garlic, fried eggs, water, reserved oil, vinegar, salt and bread
4. Meanwhile prepare the fresh asparagus pieces: lightly breaded and fried tempura style. Add to gazpacho.
Chill and serve! Delicious.
NOTE: We've spent more time in Spain than any other country in the world (except the U.S.) and happily return as often as possible to see and eat more! Read our take on The Seven Wonders of Spain or check out our list of all the UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Spain, with links to those we've covered.
Anything with garlic and asparagus is all right in my book! Can’t wait to try this!
I’m with you there, Corinne! Now to assemble a pinterest board of recipes.
mmm gotta love Cáceres, of my favorite cities in all of España. We had such a great time there!
Dan, we’ve finally made our first journey to Extremadura. We had no expectations for the cuisine here, but are finding all sorts of tasty–and modern–dishes. We’ll be back soon, because we want to visit other towns and parts of this region.
This recipe sure looks like a keeper! Gazpacho is such a great summertime dish.
Irene, do you make gazpacho at home? If I ever have a kitchen and you ever pass through my town, I’ll make gazpacho for you!
I’m not a big fan of cold soups, but this one sounds delicious. Worth a try.
Donna, it all depends on the weather, I think. I make gazpacho only a couple time a year, and always during the hottest days.
We’re enjoying the amazing food in Spain and Portugal is our next destination so we’ll have to keep our eyes open and try the gazpacho soup when we see it on the menu. With makings like garlic and asparagus it’s hard to go wrong!
MMmmm, port. I’ll look forward to your Portugal reports.
Wow, that sounds wonderful, and easy to make. What kind of bread would you suggest?
I’d use a couple slices of a crusty baguette. According to my taste, it was barely discernible. I think this uses less bread than the traditional tomato gazpacho.
I’ve never had this kind of gazpacho. I’ll add the recipe to my to-do file. Sounds interesting.
Carole, let me know how it goes. The wild card for me is making the ‘tempura style’ asparagus. It still had nice crunch when added to the gazpacho.
I love cold soups! I make cucumber soup and also a delicious avocado soup – good hot or cold, but I have not made gazpacho yet. Though, now I want to give this recipe a try.
Thanks, Susan. Mmm, I may need to add Cold Avocado Soup to my repertoire! BTW, if you want to try the traditional tomato and cucumber gazpacho, I highly recommend Anna Thomas’ version from “The Vegetarian Epicure I.”