Salmorejo

"More tomatoes than leaves!" my nonna exclaims as she surveys her cherry tomato crop.  And it's true, the poor plants are throwing all their energy into making fruit, leaving us with more sweet cherry tomatoes than we know what to do with.  It's like this every year when I come to my grandma's house in Sicily.  We end up having tomato salad for every meal in an attempt to consume them until I can no longer even look at another tomato.  So this year, I decided to come up with more creative and delicious ways to use up the bounty of this volcanic soil.

The first dish I made with the tomatoes is this salmorejo, a cold Spanish tomato soup similar to gazpacho.  It makes a very refreshing no-cook summer meal.  My version excludes the serrano ham that is traditionally used to garnish the soup, but feel free to add it back in.

Salmorejo

3 cups cherry tomatoes

1/2 loaf soaked stale bread

1 clove garlic

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 boiled egg

extra virgin olive oil

First, peel the tomatoes by plunging them into a pot of boiling water and quickly shocking them with cold water.  The skins should come off easily.  In a food processor, combine the tomatoes, bread, garlic, vinegar, oil, and egg and process until smooth.  Serve cold with a garnish of fresh tomatoes.