Salmorejo
Updated June 14, 2021
Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times
- Total Time
- About 1 hour, plus at least 2 hours' refrigeration
- Rating
- Comments
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Ingredients
2 pounds ripe red tomatoes, peeled
4 ounces stale French baguette, crusts removed and diced or torn into pieces (about 2 ½ cups diced or torn up bread)
2 garlic cloves, halved, green shoots removed, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (more to taste), plus additional for drizzling
1 ½ to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar (to taste)
Salt to taste
Diced green pepper or, for a spicy twist, diced poblano pepper, for garnish (optional)
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
24 grams carbs; 211 calories; 8 grams monosaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 2 grams saturated fat; 11 grams fat; 5 grams fiber; 662 milligrams sodium; 5 grams protein; 8 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Place the bread in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Allow to sit for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze the water from the bread. Return the bread to the bowl, and place a strainer over the bowl.
- Step 2
Cut the peeled tomatoes in half across the equator, and squeeze out the seeds over the strainer. Rub the seed pods against the strainer to extract as much juice as you can. Discard the seeds. Chop the tomatoes coarsely, and add to the bowl with the bread and tomato juice. Add the garlic, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the vinegar and salt to taste. Toss together and leave to marinate for 30 minutes.
- Step 3
Transfer to a blender, and blend at high speed until homogenized (you will probably have to do this in two batches). While the blender is running, drizzle in the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Pour into the bowl, taste and adjust seasoning, adding more salt if desired. Cover and chill for at least two hours.
- Step 4
Serve, garnishing each bowl with diced green or poblano pepper and a drizzle of olive oil.
Variation: Serve the salmorejo as a sauce with grilled fish or as a dip with crudités. For thicker salmorejo, add another ounce of bread.Advance preparation: This will keep for two days in the refrigerator. But don’t add the garlic until a few hours before serving. Blend a cupful of the soup with the garlic, then whisk back into the rest of the soup.Martha Rose Shulman can be reached at martha-rose-shulman.com.
Private Notes
Comments
Tipically you would find shredded boiled egg to add on top, also very common thinly sliced Spanish ham.
Wait, 1.5 CUPS of minced garlic? I love garlic, but that's got to be a typo, right?
Add the garlic right away and chill overnight (something wonderful happens), and use way more oil than this recipe asks. Garnish with chopped serrano ham, chopped hard-boiled egg, diced red onion, and maybe chives (more for color). For luscious texture, run it through a food mill or a tamis, and (if you dare) whisk in a raw egg yolk just before serving. When tomatoes are ripe, this kind of salmorejo is sublime. An explosion of flavor. You'll never return to gazpacho again.
Sue me, but I added a bit of anchovy paste and a couple pinches of smoked paprika. Made it sing!
I increased the tomatoes to 2 1/2 pounds, the olive oil to 1/4 cup and instead of peeling the tomatoes, put them into a food processor for about a minute without adding the bread and then poured the resulting liquefied tomatoes through a large sieve to strain out seeds and peel. I then returned it to the food processor in stages with the bread. This was (I think) faster and simpler than peeling the tomatoes. I definitely garnished the delicious results with hard boiled egg.
To reduce the amount of bread (I use none) or olive oil (I keep to about 50 grams for 1kg of tomatoes), add 1-2 carrots and blend 1-2 boiled eggs, depending on personal preferences. It thickens without impacting flavor.