Porra antequerana recipe, the cold soup from Málaga

Andalusian cuisine has numerous cold soups among its most outstanding recipes. One of them is the porra antequerana, traditional, as its name indicates, from Antequera. A dish that can not be missed in this town of Málaga during the hottest days of the year and not to be confused with the Cordoban salmorejo or the Andalusian gazpacho. The porra antequerana is much thicker and is eaten with a spoon. Also, unlike salmorejo, it contains green bell pepper and vinegar.

The name of this cold soup refers to the porra or mortar with which the peasants used to mash the ingredients until a thick cream was obtained. It was considered a meal for the poor because it was prepared with leftovers from other meals, such as bread or tomatoes. In this way, it has evolved until today and has become a gastronomic gem of the beautiful Andalusian town of Antequera.

Ingredients for the Porra Antequerana:

  • 1 kg of ripe tomatoes
  • 200 g of bread
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 125 of ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar
  • Salt
  • Decoration: hard-boiled egg, slices of serrano ham and tuna

How to Make Porra Antequerana:

  1. The first step in this recipe is to hydrate a little the bread with water and set aside.
  2. Then, it is time to prepare the vegetables. Wash the tomatoes and cut them into pieces. Also wash the bell pepper, remove the seeds and cut into several pieces. Finally, peel the garlic clove.
  3. The main step to make the porra antequerana is that the ingredients are well crushed. To do this, add the vegetables to the blender container with the salt, vinegar and oil. Blend until you get a homogeneous texture.
  4. Once the vegetables are mashed, add the bread to the blender container and blend again. With the bread you can control the resulting consistency; if you want it thicker you can add more, or less if you prefer the opposite. Once you have finished, you can also pass it through a sieve if you are looking for a smoother texture. Place in the refrigerator for 2 hours.
  5. For the garnish, cook the egg, cut the Serrano ham into small pieces and drain the oil from the tuna. Place them on top of your porra antequerana when you are going to serve it and you can enjoy this delicious Andalusian recipe.

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