Salmorejo — Córdoba's Thick Chilled Tomato Cream

Ingredients

• 2 lb the ripest tomatoes findable
• 4 oz stale crusty bread, torn (the body — salmorejo is part soup, part bread)
• ½ cup olive oil
• 1 small clove garlic
• 1 tbsp sherry vinegar
• Toppings: chopped boiled egg + a little ham or toasted almonds
• Salt

Method

1. Blend the tomatoes to liquid first, then add the bread and let it soak 5 minutes in the blender jar.
2. Add the garlic, vinegar, and 1 teaspoon salt; blend again, then stream in the oil with the motor running — it will lighten to orange-coral silk. Blend a full 2 minutes; texture is the entire brief.
3. It should coat a spoon thickly — thinner than hummus, thicker than any soup you'd sip.
4. Chill deeply, at least 1 hour.
5. Serve cold with the egg and ham (or almonds) scattered over, plus a final oil thread. Córdoba's summer engine — gazpacho drinks, salmorejo dines.