Salmorejo Recipe
I had very low expectations of this dish when I tasted it during our first night in Seville. But I feel fairly strongly about trying things at least once before I dismiss them. So glad that I did! We tried Salmorejo at a few different spots so I feel that I have a good handle on the flavor profile and the variations in flavor. I read about 10 recipes before I came across this one. I followed the recipe mostly verbatim, but changed a few things here and there to suit my taste.
Not sure how often I will eat this, because, spoiler alert it has a whole baguette in it lol. I suppose when I’m feeling a bit nostalgic I will whip up a batch.
What you'll need
- 8 Medium Tomatoes: I used heirloom
- 1 Medium Baguette: they did not have plain so I had a parmesan baguette
- 1 cup good quality extra virgin olive oil
- 1 clove of garlic: I used 1 small raw clove, but I think roasted garlic would taste pretty amazing in this dish
- A splash of sherry vinegar: add a half a plash first, and then add more. This dish can get too vinegary. I like a little less than normal
- 2 Hard Boiled Eggs: you only need two if you plan on garnishing it the traditional way. I didn’t so I only needed one.
- Sliced Serrano Ham (or Prosciutto): I used prosciutto because that’s what I had in my house at the time.
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.
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.
Add the splash of vinegar, salt, pepper, 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 1 hard-boiled egg and blend until incorporated. Taste and adjust levels of salt, pepper, vinegar, garlic, and bread.
I like this soup served room temp, not cold, but traditionally it is served chilled. In Spain it was garnished with diced ham and a sliced hard-boiled egg. I wasn’t that into it so I switched it to raw zucchini noodles and a small piece of prosciutto. The contrast in texture was really nice and fresh!
I love making a meal out of a variety of small bites, because I’m greedy and it gives me the opportunity to taste everything I want. :) Now tell me what is your favorite tapa?
