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Puerto Rican Style Gazpacho Salad

Name: Puerto Rican Style Gazpacho Salad
Prep time: 20 min
Total time: 2 h 20 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Caribbean
Ingredients: 1 ripe avocado; 1 white onion; 1 large tomato; 1 lb dried cod, desalted and deboned; Olive oil, to taste

Prep 20 min
Total 2 hr 20 min
Ingredients 5
Servings 4

The avocado has always been related to my childhood. Although we lived in the city and didn't have any fruit trees, we would visit the family farm often. I remember going with my siblings and cousins to explore the hills and pick fruit like avocados, grapefruits and oranges. As a reward, a rico gazpacho sandwich always awaited us– it was actually an avocado and cod salad. This classic Puerto Rican salad is very popular on the island and is known as ‘gazpacho’ in the south. You might be wondering right now, “What does this salad have in common with the famous Spanish gazpacho?” This name could have come from having many of the same ingredients as a traditional gazpacho: onion, tomato, olive oil and in some cases vinegar. Without a doubt though, this dish is not a cold soup; here the ingredients are diced for a salad and not puréed.

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
1 white onion
1 large tomato
1 lb dried cod, desalted and deboned
Olive oil, to taste

Directions

1

Soak the dried cod in water for at least two hours, regularly changing the water to remove the salt.
2

While the fish is soaking, cut all of the ingredients into small cubes. Then transfer to a bowl and keep refrigerated until the cod is ready.
3

When completely desalted, use a fork to break-up the cod filet into pieces and add to the prepared salad. Dress the mixture with some olive oil and mix well with a spoon. Serve cold as a salad or try it as a sandwich; accompany with vegetables, white rice or boiled viandas (potato-like tubers.)

You can boil the cod If you want to speed-up the process of removing the salt.
To keep the avocado from oxidizing and turning brown, add a squeeze of lemon or a little white vinegar.
If you don't like, or can't find salted cod, you can substitute it with canned tuna or salmon.

No nutrition information available for this recipe

The avocado has always been related to my childhood. Although we lived in the city and didn't have any fruit trees, we would visit the family farm often. I remember going with my siblings and cousins to explore the hills and pick fruit like avocados, grapefruits and oranges. As a reward, a rico gazpacho sandwich always awaited us– it was actually an avocado and cod salad. This classic Puerto Rican salad is very popular on the island and is known as ‘gazpacho’ in the south. You might be wondering right now, “What does this salad have in common with the famous Spanish gazpacho?” This name could have come from having many of the same ingredients as a traditional gazpacho: onion, tomato, olive oil and in some cases vinegar. Without a doubt though, this dish is not a cold soup; here the ingredients are diced for a salad and not puréed.