Recipes and images by Amber Bremner
Salmorejo is a quick and easy chilled Spanish soup that captures the essence of summer tomatoes straight off the vine. Burstingly ripe tomatoes are blended with stale, good quality bread (I use home-made sourdough), a generous pour of olive oil, and the simple flavours of garlic, salt, pepper and sherry vinegar for a touch of sharpness. The final taste will vary depending on the olive oil you use and the variety and sweetness of your tomatoes, so feel free to tweak it with a touch of sugar if needed, or more vinegar, to suit your taste. Use the most ripe, full-flavoured variety of tomato you have available (no watery, unripe supermarket tomatoes here please!). Traditionally this soup might be topped with ham and hard boiled eggs. I’ve opted for finely diced apple, chives and lemon for a bright flavour. Enjoy as a cool, refreshing starter to a summer meal.
Serves 4–6
Soup
850g ripe, full-flavoured tomatoes
150g good quality stale bread, crusts removed
⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 clove garlic, chopped
¾ tsp salt
¼ tsp freshly ground pepper
½–1 tsp sugar (optional, if necessary)
Topping
2 tbsp finely diced apple (or pear)
1 tbsp finely sliced chives
squeeze of fresh lemon
additional extra virgin olive oil
It’s not essential if you have a good blender, but I prefer to blanch the tomatoes and remove their skins. Do this by lightly scoring a cross into the bottom of the tomatoes and dropping them into boiling water for a minute. Drain and immerse in cold water, then slip their skins off.
Cut tomatoes into chunks (remove any tough cores) and put into a blender. Add bread, olive oil, sherry vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper, and blend until completely smooth. If necessary, thin the soup with a splash or two of water. Taste and adjust seasoning and acidity to suit your taste. If your tomatoes aren’t very sweet, a little sugar might balance the flavour perfectly. Start small, with half a teaspoon, and go from there.
Chill soup in the fridge for at least an hour (or serve over a few ice cubes).
Just before serving, mix apple and chives with a squeeze of lemon. Spoon a little into the centre of each bowl, and drizzle with a little extra olive oil.
