Ripe tomatoes plucked from the vine are one of life's great pleasures.
The tomato plants in my garden are in full production and every time I brush the leaves, the aroma typifies summer for me.
Picking a tomato from the vine, still warm from the afternoon sun, and tasting the incredible flavour is one of the true delights of gardening.
Tomato and bread soup is a celebration of real tomatoes - sweet, tangy and at their vine-ripened best.
At this time of year, there is a surplus of late summer tomatoes, so all you need is a slightly stale loaf of bread and some fruity olive oil and you have the soup from my family's home in Cordoba. Follow the ingredients and method meticulously, as deviations can cause a flavour imbalance.
The tomato salad is incredibly simple and has a beautiful balance of flavours, with sweet tomatoes, salty white anchovies and crunchy pickled garlic. The garlic, anchovies and guindilla peppers can be found at most European delicatessens.
3 green zebra tomatoes
3 black russian tomatoes
1 beefsteak tomato
1 punnet yellow cherry tomatoes
1 punnet cherry tomatoes
½ fennel bulb
1 white onion
½ cup tarragon leaves
16 guindilla peppers
40ml chardonnay vinegar
120ml extra-virgin olive oil
salt and black pepper
16 white anchovies
4 pickled garlic cloves, sliced
Peel the large tomatoes by cutting a small cross on top of each fruit and placing them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Refresh in a large bowl of iced water. Peel and discard skin. Cut the larger tomatoes into quarters and leave the small ones whole and place in a large bowl. Cut out the fennel's woody stem with a small V cut, then slice very finely across its face. Cut the onion in half and slice each half very finely. Add to the tomatoes with tarragon leaves, fennel and guindillas, torn in half and destalked. Dress with the chardonnay vinegar and olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. Using clean hands, gently lift the salad from the dressing and divide between individual plates with 3-4 anchovies each and pickled garlic. Spoon over any remaining dressing.
Serves 4
1kg vine-ripened, soft tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 garlic clove
250g two-day-old pasta dura or other firm, crusty bread, crusts removed
100ml fruity extra-virgin olive oil
1 heaped tsp salt
200ml chilled water
3 hard-boiled eggs, roughly chopped
80g jamon, cut into thin strips
Puree the tomatoes and garlic in a food processor for one minute, or until as smooth as possible. Strain the tomato mixture through a sieve, stirring and gently pressing on the solids to extract as much juice as possible. Discard the skin and seeds. Break up the bread into golf-ball-sized pieces and put in a large stainless-steel bowl. Pour the strained tomato mixture and olive oil over the bread with the salt (you will need this amount of salt, as it is a cold soup and anything served cold needs extra seasoning). Using clean hands, squish the tomato mixture into the bread, really working the liquid through. Leave to stand for 15 minutes, allowing the bread to soak up the liquid. Puree the mixture again in a food processor, adding enough of the chilled water until it is smooth and velvety. The soup should be a salmon pink colour. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Serve the soup in bowls with the egg, jamon, and a drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil if desired.
Serves 4
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