Salmorejo, one of my favourite Spanish cold soups, or should I say puree?
Check out this delicious recipe and decide for yourself the difference between Gazpacho and Salmorejo.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
🥘 Ingredients
Originally a salmorejo should only be made with; tomatoes, bread, garlic and olive oil. In contrary, for gazpacho you can add cucumber, red bell pepper (paprika) and sherry vinegar.
So when you follow my recipe you will notice that this Salmorejo is in texture a salmorejo, but with some added ingredients taken from the famous gazpacho (read why in the next chapter). I have tried all different options, and this one has become my favourite :). Feel free to experiment yourself.
As a famous chef from Cordoba once said; 'There are as many recipes for a salmorejo as there are hands that make them.'
💭 Gazpacho or Salmorejo?
The main and most important difference is texture; Gazpacho is a cold soup, which is very easily drinkable. Therefore often served in a glass. Salmorejo is more like a puree. And is enjoyed with a spoon.
It is a certain style of bread which creates the difference. This particular bread is called Pan de telera, Pan candeal or pan sobao depending in which region you are. This bread is very dense and with little hydration. With this bread you can create the beautiful creamy texture of a Salmorejo.
But, this bread is not everywhere available, so instead just try and find a local dense white bread in your area. I am sure you can find a good bread anywhere to make your favourite cold soup. You might have to add more bread to create the thick creamy texture.
🥗 Toppings
Traditionally, a salmorejo is topped with a hard boiled egg (crumbled) and pieces of Jamon serrano. These ingredients are both non-vegan.
Therefore I have adjusted the traditional recipe. By adding a small amount of red bell pepper (paprika) and sherry vinegar, the soup has more depth and complexity. Which without the savoury toppings would otherwise become too boring for my palate. You can top this soup with a few finely diced pieces of cucumber, to add a bit of crunch and freshness.
I hope you enjoy experimenting with this soup. To find your own personal favourite cold soup! & Check out my other Spanish favourite cold soup recipe >> Ajo Blanco.
📋 Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 hard tomatoes cored
- 1 garlic clove roughly chopped
- ½ red bell pepper roughly chopped
- 50 gr old stale bread
- ½ teaspoon paprika powder
- 1 teaspoon fine brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
- optional; 1 teaspoon tomato puree
Instructions
- Start with soaking the old bread in a little bit of water. Leave this to soak for minimum 10 minutes
- Meanwhile blend your the red bell pepper until it becomes juicy.
- Add the tomatoes, hard tomatoes not the juicy ones. And add the garlic. Blend for a few minutes.
- Now sieve this mixture, so no tomato seeds or skin in left. And put the sieved mixture back into your blender or food processor.
- After minimum 10 minutes soaking of the bread, squeeze as much as possible water out of the bread, and start adding the bread slowly, little by little. Until all the bread is well mixed in.
- Now you can add all the flavourings; Paprika powder, sugar, sherry vinegar, and olive oil.
- Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.
- It is optional to add a little bit of tomato puree. This will bring a deep red colour to the Salmorejo, and adds more sweetness.
- Chill the soup for minimum 2 hours.
Notes
Nutrition
This Salmorejo recipe is part of my new series; 'Travels of taste'. In which we meet other cultures through food by using all our senses and imagination. Smell its salty air & feel the hot sun while tasting its incredible variety of fresh food. Check out my full Mediterranean 'travels of taste' post; >>> The Med; Olive oil, herbs & fresh produce.
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