Salmorejo
When the weather turns torrid, it’s time to make like the Andalusians and blend up some silky-suave salmorejo. Yep, the southern Spanish know a thing or two about sweltering and chilled, rich, tomato-loaded soup is one of their ways of giving it the big Eff You. It’s SO delicious. If you ask us (and nobody has), salmorejo is the nectar of the bloody gods and completely addictive too. In fabulous Spanish supermarkets you can buy it chilled in tetra packs for a few measly euros. Civilised. You want full-flavoured, juicy, really good tomatoes for this, not the woolly-tasting bastards you get in the off-season. Please be good people and use a decent bakery loaf that actually goes stale and not supermarket bread. Which turns gummy and has nasty additives. And make sure you find Spanish jamon because it’s fabulous, like absolutely everything else in Spain is fabulous. Yeah. We love Spain.
SERVES 8 (as a tapa portion, or 4 as a light meal)
1.2kg super-ripe roma tomatoes (about 10)
180g crustless day-old bread (about 6 slices), coarsely torn
1-2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
2-3 tsp sherry vinegar, or to taste
1 tsp caster sugar (optional)
180ml (¾ cup) mild, fruity extra virgin olive oil, plus extra, to serve
chopped jamon serrano and chopped hard boiled egg, to serve
Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil for the tomatoes. Fill a large bowl with ice cold water. Using a small, sharp knife, remove the stem end from the tomatoes, then cut a small cross in the base of each. Add the tomatoes, in two batches, to the boiling water and cook for about 30 seconds, or until the skins begin to loosen. Using a slotted spoon, quickly remove the tomatoes to the bowl of iced water to cool. Drain well, then peel.
Using your hands, coarsely crush the tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor or blender, then process until smooth. Add the bread, stand for 5 minutes to soften, then add all the remaining ingredients except the olive oil. Process until very smooth. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow, steady stream; the soup should emulsify and thicken. Season to taste with salt and pepper and extra vinegar, if needed. Transfer to a container and refrigerate until well chilled.
To serve, divide the soup among bowls. Top each with chopped jamon and boiled egg to taste, drizzle with a little extra virgin olive oil, then serve.
