The first time I saw gazpacho on a cruise menu, I got really excited…until the dish arrived. It was a cold tomato soup! I was like, WTH?! All my life, gazpacho has been a light & refreshing salad composed of flaky salt cod (bacalao), avocado, tomato, onion and olive oil. So you can imagine my surprise when I saw the soup. Puerto Rican gazpacho is a childhood favorite of mine, and is perfect for those nights when you’re just too tired to really cook. This dish is a simple assembly-style dish. The hardest part is waiting patiently to purge the salt cod of its salty coat. What Ingredients Are In Puerto Rican Gazpacho?
Puerto Rican gazpacho features salt cod, known BacalaoBacalao is the Spanish term for dried and salted cod fish. After the fish has been cleaned and eviscerated, it is salted and dried. It’s then sold whole or in fillets, with or without the bone. Before consuming it, the fish needs to be rehydrated and the excessive amount of sodium reduced by soaking and changing the water several times over many hours.
Once the salt has been removed from the cod, it’s boiled until tender, cooled, and combined with fresh tomatoes, white onion, ripe avocadoes, olive oil, and a splash of vinegar. This dish is super simple, yet packed with flavor.
I personally prefer to eat mines with Italian bread 🥖 ☺️