Salmorejo is more filling than gazpacho, with added bread, and extremely tasty thanks to extra virgin olive oil, vinegar, garlic and seasonings. Flavorful seasonal tomatoes help too. Andalusian agricultural laborers made this soup when they worked in vegetables gardens, where all of the ingredients were readily available to them. Leave out the ham to make it vegetarian.
4 slices (about ⅓ pound) of day-old bread
5 large tomatoes (about 1 ½ pounds)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
6-7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (or red or white wine vinegar)
½ teaspoon sugar
Salt and pepper, to taste
Garnish Ingredients (optional):
Extra virgin olive oil
2 hard boiled eggs, peeled and chopped
¼ pound sausage or Spanish ham
Put the bread in the food processor and pulse until it turns to fine crumbs. Pour the crumbs in a serving bowl.
Cut the tomatoes, unpeeled, into quarters and remove the hard white bits at the stem end. Blend in the food processor until the peel shows only as tiny specks of red in the pink cream. Add the rest of the ingredients, tasting to decide how much garlic and vinegar you want, and blend well. Add the breadcrumbs and mix well.
Serve in small bowls or tea cups, and garnish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, chopped eggs and ham.
Recipe adapted from Claudia Roden.
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