salmorejo
authentic Andalucían chilled tomato soup!
If salmorejo sounds familiar to you, it may be because Caroline shared a salmorejo-inspired chilled tomato soup last summer. That recipe was part gazpacho, part salmorejo, part totally new concept altogether. It consisted of blended tomatoes (like both gazpacho and salmorejo), but it also included Greek yogurt for a protein boost and red bell pepper for added nutrients and flavor. It’s absolutely delightful, and, as Caro explained then, it’s absolutely not traditional to any part of the world.
Today’s chilled tomato soup, on the other hand, could not be more traditional. Our guest for this week — the world renowned, incredibly inspiring chef José Andrés! — was born in Mieres, Spain, grew up along the Eastern coast of the country in Catalonia, attended culinary school in Barcelona, and has spent many summers in Andalucía, the birth place of salmorejo (a chilled tomato soup that gets its sumptuous creaminess from blended bread, plus a few more simple, quality ingredients: garlic, EVOO, vinegar, and sea salt).
If anyone can teach us how to make an authentic salmorejo, it’s José, and, lucky for us, he’s here today to do just that. So get ready to sip on salmorejo for the rest of summer, you won’t be able to stop making this one!
From José: I love making the cold soups of Andalucía all summer long — my wife is originally from that part of Spain, and we spend our summers there, where the heat is so intense that all you want to do is drink something very, very cold. And what better thing to drink than a liquid salad? (Well, a glass of sherry or a very cold beer isn’t bad either!) Salmorejo, which you could maybe call a first cousin of gazpacho, is originally from the beautiful city of Córdoba. It has most of the same ingredients, but it’s way thicker because of added bread… you can think of it as halfway between a soup and a dip. It’s usually garnished with hard-boiled eggs and some jamón serrano, the latter of which you can find at more and more grocery stores as people start to understand that Spanish products are the best in the world!
Have you cooked a recipe of José’s before, or dined at one of his (many!) amazing restaurants? If so, which one?!
Jamón serrano — roughly translating to “mountain ham” — has been a staple of Spanish cooking for centuries. The thinly sliced pork (sourced from certain breeds of white pigs in the mountainous regions of Spain) is cured by way of salting, air-dying, and aging over the course of 12 to 18 months. It has some similarities with Italian prosciutto — another dry-cured ham — but is a bit saltier and has a firmer texture.
As José mentions above, more and more grocers in the U.S. are beginning to carry jamón serrano (not to be confused with jamón ibérico, which is a type of jamón serrano that comes from prized black ibérico pigs and costs an actual fortune). You should be able to find jamón serrano if you shop somewhere like Whole Foods or a specialty butcher shop, but if you can’t, don’t stress! Tasty subs would include another type of cured ham like prosciutto or country ham, or cooked bacon crumbles or pancetta.
Click here to learn all about José’s impressive and inspirational career, and to learn more about World Central Kitchen, the amazing nonprofit he founded in 2010 to provide meals to people in crisis around the world. Caroline is a proud member of WCK’s Chef Corps, a network of 500+ cooks who are on standby, ready to help warm meals get in the hands of those who need them as soon as possible after disasters.
José Andrés also writes a newsletter on Substack called Longer Tables — if you want more recipes like this, as well as food stories and more (and to support the work of WCK!), subscribe today.
Once you’ve mastered the art of authentic salmorejo, give last summer’s chilled tomato soup a try! If you’re craving tomato soup but are reading this in the future when it’s not peak summer, you must cook Caro’s creamy but creamless tomato soup. It’s a true delight, and comes packed with extra veggies (sweet potato and carrots, in addition to the tomatoes!). And if you just want another recipe that harnesses the delight of sweet, sweet summer tomatoes, cook sunshine pasta next!
By José Andrés (formatting modified for What to Cook)
Serves 4 to 6
Prep time: 30 minutes, plus 2 to 3 hours for letting the soup chill
Tools:
Large pot or bowl
Small pot
Small or medium bowl filled with ice water
Ingredients:
2 pounds very ripe plum tomatoes, quartered
2 to 3 slices rustic bread or other dense white country bread, crusts removed (and discarded/repurposed) and cubed (about 2 cups)
1 garlic clove, peeled
1 teaspoon sherry vinegar
1/2 tablespoon fine sea salt
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling, divided
3 large eggs, hard-boiled
1/4 pound jamón serrano, cut into 1/4-inch dice (can substitute another cured ham)
1/2 cup small bread sticks or crackers, such as picos
Flaky sea salt
Quarter 2 pounds of very ripe plum tomatoes and add them to a blender. Remove and discard (or repurpose) the crusts from 2 to 3 slices of rustic bread. Cube the bread and add it to the blender along with 1 peeled garlic clove, 1 teaspoon sherry vinegar, 1/2 tablespoon fine sea salt, and 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. Purée until smooth.
Continue to purée the soup while you slowly drizzle in the remaining 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil and continue blending until the soup is creamy and emulsified; this will take about 8 minutes.
Place a large pot or bowl beneath a fine mesh strainer and pour the blended soup through the strainer. Discard the chunky bits caught by the strainer. If you don’t have a fine mesh strainer, no problem — skip this step, your soup will still taste delicious!
Refrigerate the soup for 2 to 3 hours until it’s very cold.
Meanwhile, bring a small pot of water to a boil. Add 3 large eggs (shells still on!), reduce the heat slightly, and cook at a simmer (meaning slow, gentle bubbles) for 9 minutes.
Transfer the cooked eggs to an ice bath (AKA, put the eggs in a bowl of ice water). Once cool enough to handle, peel the shells off and rinse the eggs.
Meanwhile, chop 1/4 pound jamón serrano into a 1/4-inch dice (for reference, 1/4 inch is a little longer than your pinky finger’s fingernail).
To serve, divide the cold soup among 4 to 6 bowls. Slice the hard-boiled eggs in half and place a half into each bowl. Garnish each bowl with a spoonful of diced jamón and a few crackers. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the eggs and drizzle each bowl with extra-virgin olive oil.
link to printer version
Love your leftovers/prep ahead: Store leftovers in the fridge in an airtight container for up to 3 days. If the soup separates while it sits, just whisk it together again before eating.
What to cook when you really don’t feel like cooking: Buy pre-prepped hard-boiled eggs from the store to avoid having to boil water and peel shells.
Vegetarian: Skip the jamón serrano. Double the eggs if you want to make up for that protein.
Dairy-free/nut-free: Already is!
Gluten-free: Use gluten-free bread and crackers.
I’m allergic to tomatoes: Replace the tomatoes with 3 (12 ounce) jars of roasted red bell peppers. Drain and give them a quick rinse first!
I’m feeling fancy: Add some chopped olives and/or Marcona almonds to your bowls, too.
Bulk it up: Serve this soup with grilled cheese! For each sandwich, spread 1 tablespoon of softened unsalted butter on 2 slices of sandwich bread (or you could use slices from your rustic loaf) and place them buttered-side-down. Top one slice with a generous handful of shredded cheese like Cheddar or Gruyère (bonus points if you use a Spanish cheese like manchego), squish the other bread slice on top buttered-side-up and grill in a skillet over medium heat, flipping occasionally, until toasted and melty. It’s also currently fig season, which means a ham and fig grilled cheese would be an excellent choice.
Spice it up: If you love spice, add a big pinch of red pepper flakes or hot smoked paprika (that would likely be José’s choice!), or a shake of your favorite hot sauce.
Plum tomatoes: If you can’t find plum tomatoes, swap with 2 pounds of any ripe summer tomatoes (heirloom, cherry, Sungold, etc.). See the tomato allergy note above for another idea.
Bread: You’re looking for a fresh baked loaf of white bread from the bakery section of your store (or a bakery!). It’ll be round with a crusty exterior and may be called “rustic loaf,” “country bread,” “artisanal loaf” — even fresh sourdough would do. If you’re in a bind, you can use white sandwich bread!
Garlic clove: Swap in a big pinch of garlic powder if you don’t have fresh.
Sherry vinegar: Sherry vinegar and apple cider vinegar are our top picks, but any other vinegar like red wine, white wine, or even balsamic will do the trick. Or use 1 teaspoon of lemon juice.
Fine sea salt: You can swap for kosher salt, but you might want to increase the amount a little — fine sea salt tends to taste “saltier” than kosher. Start with an even swap and add more a little at a time, as needed, until the flavors pop!
EVOO: Use the best-quality EVOO you have for this recipe. EVOO is definitely ideal, but if you have none, you can use olive oil or avocado oil.
Eggs: Omit if you hate/can’t eat/don’t have eggs. Add more jamón for added protein, if you want!
Jamón serrano: Cooked bacon crumbles or pancetta, diced prosciutto or country ham, or omit
Crackers: Croutons or omit
Click here for the full index of What to Cook recipes categorized by protein, cook time, and *mood.*
Editor: Molly Ramsey
Photographer: Bea Moreno
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So excited for this! After studying in Sevilla in college, I’ve been making my host family’s recipe for Salmorejo for years but now get to try a new way to make it. A former DC resident as well, so I had the pleasure of dining at Jaleo and Zaytinya many many times in my younger days. Keep doing great work JA!
Zaytinya! I always try to make it there when in DC. Also a former DMV resident!
This salmorejo looks delicious!