Submitted by Nieves Romero-Díaz. This is not a holiday dish per se. It is though the most traditional Cordobesan dish you can find (along with oxtail stew I guess) and you can eat it any time of the year, but better in the summer when tomatoes are perfect (for the rest of the year, I use canned whole tomatoes). I love it like that or next to a “tortilla española”.
Ingredients:
- Medium Tomatoes the quality of the tomatoes is one of the most important factors in the taste.
- Medium Baguette.
- Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil again, quality is important.
- Clove of Garlic not too big.
- A Splash of Sherry Vinegar Vinagre de Jerez, although red wine vinegar can be substituted.
- A Pinch of Salt.
- Hard-Boiled Eggs.
- Sliced Serrano Ham or Prosciutto.
Instructions:
- Scald the tomatoes: Put a large pot of salted water on the stove and bring to a boil. Cut a small cross in the bottom of each tomato. When the water is boiling add the tomatoes for 30-60 seconds. Remove immediately and place in a cold water bath (a bowl filled with ice and cold water). The skin will peel right off of the tomatoes.
- First Blend: Cut out the cores of the tomatoes and add all the rest to your blender. Blend at high speed for about 30 seconds until the tomatoes are broken down.
- Add bread: Take all of the “guts” out of your baguette and add them to the blended tomatoes. The baguette should have given about 2-3 cups of guts and you can experiment with how much you add, as this is how you change the texture. I use about 2 cups of bread guts. Let the bread soak in tomato juice for about 5 minutes.
- Second Blend: Add the splash of vinegar, salt, and garlic and blend until the soup is an even texture and the bread is completely broken down.
- Add Oil: If your blender has it, open the small hole in the top. Slowly add the olive oil as you are blending at a moderate speed. If it doesn’t have the hole, stop and go adding little by little.
- Add Egg and Adjust: Add 1 hardboiled egg and blend until incorporated. Taste and adjust levels of salt, vinegar, garlic, and bread.
- Serve in small bowls with diced hardboiled egg and sliced ham as condiments. Serve cold! Enjoy!