Salmorejo – Anthony Salemme

By Anthony Salemme, contributing chef

Serves 4

(See downloadable, printable recipe at bottom of page)

A traditional  chilled soup originating from Andalusia, southern Spain, made of tomato, bread, extra virgin olive oil and garlic. Great on a HOT Summer Day.

8 Medium Tomatoes – Heirloom, beefsteak or big boy tomatoes are best

1 Medium Baguette

1 Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil – again, quality is important

1 Clove of Garlic, chopped

 Splash of Sherry Vinegar (you can use red wine vinegar)

 Pinch of Salt

 2 Hard Boiled Eggs, peeled

Scald the tomatoes: Put a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cut a small cross in the bottom of each tomato. When the water is boiling add the tomatoes for 30-60 seconds. Remove immediately and place in a cold water bath (a bowl filled with ice and cold water). The skin will peel right off of the tomatoes.

Cut out the cores of the tomatoes and add all the rest to your blender. Blend at high-speed for about 30 seconds until the tomatoes are broken down.

Add bread: Take all of the “guts” out of your baguette and add them to the blended tomatoes.

The baguette should have given about 2-3 cups of guts, and you can experiment with how much you add, as this is how you change the texture. I use about 2 cups of the bread guts. Let the bread soak in the tomato juice for about 5 minutes.

Puree all the bread, tomatoes, and the juices in a food processor.

Add the splash of vinegar, salt, and garlic and blend until the soup is an even texture and the bread is completely broken down.

Slowly add the olive oil as you are blending at a moderate speed. If it doesn’t have the hole, stop and go, adding little by little.

Add Egg and adjust: Add hardboiled eggs and blend until incorporated. Taste and adjust levels of salt, vinegar, garlic, and bread.

Can be topped with plain yogurt.

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Anthony loves to cook and share recipes. You can follow him on Instagram at – @mealpvd and online at www.anthonysalemme.com

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