Salmorejo

We had this in Andalucia. It's a kind of cold soup, thicker than a gazpacho, almost dip-like in consistency. I guess they need a way to use up all the ripe tomatoes. We also have a surfeit of tomatoes at the moment, and this is a delicious way of using some.

About 6 large very ripe tomatoes

1 small clove garlic, roughly chopped

1 cupful of stale white bread or baguette, no crusts (about 2 slices of a cob loaf)

1 tsp vinegar - the authentic recipes say sherry vinegar, I substitute balsamic as I didn't have sherry

salt to taste (about half a teaspoon)

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1 hardboiled egg, chopped

slice serrano ham, chopped

1. Pour boiling water over the tomatoes, leave for a couple of minutes, then peel and put them in the blender with the garlic.
2. Blend until fairly smooth.
3. Add the vinegar and some salt, along with the torn up bread and leave to soak for a couple of minutes, then blend until smooth.
4. With the blender running, gradually trickle in the olive oil to emulsify.
5. Transfer to a bowl and chill.
6. Traditionally it's served with some chopped hardboiled egg and serrano ham scattered on the top, with slices of bread on the side.