Salmorejo (Spanish Tomato & Bread Puree)

Went on a family trip to Spain last month and it was wonderful and unforgettable! Still missing Spain up to now. :(  We were able to taste a variety of food, some of which are very similar or exactly the same as Filipino food, such as Cochinillo (suckling pig, which we Pinoys call lechon), Callos a la Madrileña (tripe and chorizo stew), paella, among many others. One dish which made a strong impression on us was a dish from Southern Spain called Salmorejo.

We visited Cordoba (the home of the famous religious and architectural wonder, the Mezquita), and Salmorejo is a dish that originated from there. It is a puree made from fresh tomatoes, bread, garlic, and sherry vinegar, and is served cold, perfect for the summer months and during our visit in August, the hottest month in Spain. Salmorejo is topped with chopped jamon serrano and hard boiled eggs and is eaten with warm bread.

We fell in love with this dish and I've replicated it here.

My homemade Salmorejo, served with chopped hard boiled eggs and jamon serrano.

SALMOREJO (Spanish Tomato & Bread Puree)

Ingredients:

12 pieces fresh, plum tomatoes
1 baguette
1 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Sherry Vinegar (Spanish brand, if possible)

This is the sherry brand I used: Jose de Soto, an award winning product.

Salt to taste
3 hard boiled eggs, chopped
Sliced jamon serrano

Procedure:

1. Chop the tomatoes into chunks. Some recipes call for removing the seeds, but in my case, I included that too. Blend the tomatoes in your blender until you have a smooth puree.

2. Cut the baguette in half, crosswise. Cut lengthwise and with your hands, get the soft pulp of the bread.

Note: Don't throw away the baguette "shell." I hate wasting food! I'm going to cut these into squares and brush them with butter, garlic and some herbs. Voila! Garlic bread!

3. Add the soft bread to the puree and mix it with the puree. Let it soak there for about 10 minutes to soften the bread.

4.  Add the sherry vinegar, salt, garlic and blend further until all the ingredients are mixed well.  Add the olive oil in a steady stream while blending further.  Then add 2 of the hardboiled eggs and blend some more. Taste, and adjust the vinegar or salt to your liking.

5.  Put the Salmorejo in a bowl and chill. Serve with chopped jamon serrano and hard boiled eggs on top and on the side.

Serve it too with more jamon, chorizo and toasted bread. Yummy!