Beetroot salmorejo

Today’s recipe is beetroot salmorejo, a must-have recipe to face the summer heat, avoid spending too much time in the kitchen and enjoy a starter that is a true classic. The recipe is told to us by Leti, from Revelando Sabores, who will fully convince you why you should make this delicious recipe.

It will never actually happen, because cante jondo and flamenco dancing are not my thing, but if I ever dedicated myself to it professionally I know what my stage name would be: "La niña del salmorejo".

How much I love salmorejo, honestly! Between us, the amount of liters I can get through during the summer... I think if it were up to me, I would have it almost daily.

But in these summer months I can't think of a better dish to cope with the heat than cold soups and creams, like salmorejo. So I've set myself the goal of increasing my personal recipe collection of these types of dishes year after year, to enjoy as much variety as possible.

And my discovery this year has been this beetroot salmorejo, as tasty as the original and with a sweet note that we loved.

We'll also accompany it with a most surprising garnish, anchovies and apple...

Who could ask for more??

Cocotte redonda Evolution Le Creuset, Pallarès carbon steel knife , wood log chopping board and Le Creuset ceramic ramekin.

Ingredients

• 1 Kg of ripe tomatoes
• 300gr of beetroot
• 200gr of bread
• 250ml of olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• Salt
• A splash of vinegar

For the accompaniment:

• 1 apple
• Anchovies
• 1 splash of lemon juice

Preparation

1. We begin by preparing the beetroot. To do this, wash the beetroot well under the tap to remove any trace of soil.
2. Next, with a well-sharpened knife, cut the stem 10cm from the base, that is, leave 10cm of stem uncut. This will help prevent the beetroot from losing color during cooking.
3. Put salted water to heat in the casserole and when it begins to boil add the unpeeled beetroot.
4. Cook for about an hour, until you can pierce it with the tip of a knife and see that it is tender.
5. Remove the beetroot from the water and put it in a colander. Let cool and once it has cooled, peel it using a sharp knife.
6. Chop the beetroot and set aside.
7. Wash the tomatoes, cut them (the Opinel with serrated blade works great for them), they don't need to be too small, and put them together with the beetroot, the bread, the garlic, the salt and a bit of the olive oil in the blender jar.
8. Let it sit a few minutes so the bread softens a little and is easier to work with.
9. With the hand blender blend this mixture and once you have a cream, start to add the rest of the olive oil in a thin stream while continuing to blend at low speed. This will emulsify it, like a mayonnaise, and you'll get a very creamy salmorejo.
10. Once it's well blended pass the salmorejo through the food mill to remove any skin or seed remains and achieve a smoother texture.
11. Adjust the salt, add the splash of vinegar and chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve. I personally like to keep it in the fridge inside the Le Creuset casserole, since we can serve it straight from the fridge to the table and, being a cast iron casserole, our salmorejo will stay cool for longer
12. Peel the apple and cut it into small cubes. Drizzle with a little lemon juice to prevent it from oxidizing and set aside.
13. Serve the salmorejo in the Le Creuset ramekins and accompany with the reserved apple cubes, the anchovies and a drizzle of olive oil.

Cocotte redonda Evolution Le Creuset, Le Creuset ceramic ramekins, Pallarès carbon steel knife , Boska wood log chopping board, Trilloliva extra virgin olive oil and Tellier strainer.

Notes

• If you see it's too thick, you can lighten it with a little water, but remember that it's meant to be a fairly thick cream, not as light as gazpacho.
• If you're a salmorejo lover, I hope you dare to make this variation at home, because I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as we did at home. And if the anchovy garnish doesn't quite convince you, you can serve it with the traditional accompaniment of ham and boiled egg, which also goes wonderfully.
• I chose to serve it in the ramekins because Le Creuset's are roomy and great for serving salmorejo as a starter, but if you don't have them you can also serve it in mini cocottes or the soup tureens, with any of these you'll give it a beautiful presentation.

Cocotte redonda Evolution Le Creuset, Tellier strainer, Le Creuset ceramic ramekins, Pallarès carbon steel knife , Boska wood log chopping board, and Trilloliva extra virgin olive oil.