
Salmorejo – Rustic tomato soup with olive oil & bread
This deep-flavoured soup originates from Andalucía in southern Spain and is served cold, spiked with cumin and sherry vinegar
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 200g sourdough breadcrusts removed, torn into chunks
- 1kg very ripe tomatoes
- 2 fat garlic cloves
- 2 flame-roasted red pepperspeeled and deseeded (from a jar is fine)
- 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
To serve
- 2 hard-boiled eggspeeled
- 4 slices serrano ham
- small handful parsley
- drizzle of extra virgin olive oil
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal204
- fat2glow
- saturates1g
- carbs36g
- sugars9g
- fibre5g
- protein8g
- salt0.7g
Method
step 1
Put a small frying pan on a low heat, add the cumin seeds and toast for 1-2 mins, stirring frequently. Crush the seeds using a pestle and mortar. Soak the bread in cold water for 10 mins.
step 2
Meanwhile, to skin the tomatoes, cut a cross in the skin on the top and bottom of each tomato, then put them in a bowl and cover with boiling water. After 1-2 mins, drain the tomatoes and plunge into a bowl of ice-cold water. The skins should now peel off easily.
step 3
Cut the flesh into quarters and remove the seeds and pulp. Put the seeds and pulp in a sieve over a bowl and squish to release all the juices from around the seeds. Keep the juice and discard the seeds and pulp.
step 4
Put the garlic, tomato quarters and juice, peppers and cumin in the bowl of a food processor or blender. Squeeze out the water from the bread, then add to the processor. Season and blitz until very smooth. Add the vinegar to taste, checking for a good balance of flavours, then cover and chill for at least 2 hrs.
step 5
When ready to serve, roughly chop the eggs, serrano ham and parsley. Ladle the soup into bowls and add some of each of the toppings. Add a drizzle of your best olive oil, a grinding of pepper and serve.