Gaspachos Morelianos – Mexicana

Whilst I was researching our holiday to Mexico, I watched a lot of Pati Jinich’s ‘My Mexican Table’. In one episode, Pati visits Morelia in the state of Michoacan and enjoys the local specialty of Gaspacho. If it’s good enough for Pati, it’s good enough for me. So, in the same way that we ended up spending time in Syria so I could visit an ice cream shop, we ended up in Morelia sampling authentic local gaspacho.

You may be thinking that Gaspachos Morelianos is a hot or cold soup but it’s actually a souped up fruit salad. 

With A Twist
Chopped mango, pineapple, jicama and orange juice form the basis for this unique fruit salad. From there, things take a decidedly exotic turn with the addition of chopped onion, lime juice and spicy Chamoy sauce, as the layers are built. The salad is topped with salty queso cheese and dried chilli flakes. The refreshing cup of savoury spicy sweet fruit salad, along with a spoon, is popped into a plastic bag ‘to go’.

Filling the cups…

Adding the queso…

So what does it taste like? Utterly delicious. The combination of sweet/salty/spicy is refreshing and has you going back for another spoonful.

Morelianos are mad for it. Some vendors include cucumber, others add grated or chopped carrot. Chopped peanuts are a popular addition as is tangy tamarind sauce. It’s a matter of taste and all over town you will see people queueing at their favourite shop for a cup of Gaspachos Morelianos.

There’s no such thing as a ‘small’ cup. A small cup is still huge, allowing people to carry their gaspacho around with them as they relax and soak up the atmosphere at the Zocalo (Town Square).

Too much for even this guy to finish…

My cup of Gaspachos Morelianos was far too big and defeated me. I’d have it again and recommend it. It’s a very localised specialty that we saw nowhere else on our travels through Mexico.