We
had a dinner for friends on their annual pilgrimage from Johannesburg last
night. It is rather hot and muggy in the Cape at the moment, so a cold soup is
not only easy to do, but is well appreciated
This
is one of our best and easiest recipes, a cold fresh tomato soup, no cooking
required. It is from the second Moro cookbook, Casa Moro.
2
garlic cloves – 1 kg ripe tomatoes (Roma or jam work well) – 5 tablespoons of
olive oil - 100g white bread, no crusts, lightly crumbled - 1 or 2 tablespoons
good quality sweet red wine vinegar or sherry vinegar – a pinch of caster sugar
(optional) – sea salt and black pepper
Cut
a small cross in the top of every tomato, this will help when peeling them
Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for a couple of minutes then remove, dip
in cold water briefly and allow to cool off. Then peel, remove the cores and
halve them. Crush the garlic with a good pinch of salt until you have a paste.
Using a food processor or an electric hand-held blender, purée the tomatoes and
bread until smooth. If there are many pips, strain through a sieve. With the
machine running, add the garlic and then the olive oil. (I have to confess that
the original recipe says 10 tablespoons of olive oil. 5 worked for us. Use your
own discretion). When the oil has combined, transfer to a large bowl and stir
in the vinegar, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes
are not particularly sweet. Put into the fridge for 2 hours to chill. Just
before serving, check the seasoning once more. Add some iced water if it seems
too thick. Traditionally, you serve it with chopped egg and jamon Serrano
(cured ham). You can also use a mild chorizo if you can't get jamon.
As they suggested in the
recipe, we took all the peel, skin and pith off a large orange, sliced it and
then cut it into small wedges and added three to the bottom of each bowl – it
is magic and a lovely surprise. Or just open a tin of naartjies (clementines),
drain and add them. Serve with crusty sour dough bread or rolls.
© John & Lynne Ford, Adamastor & Bacchus 2018
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