People all over are beginning to go autumnal, talking about apples and nuts and even mushrooms.
Here in Spain we´re still with the first rains after the summer, and the weather is beautiful and fresh, but doesn´t warrant full-on adventures into soups and stews, yet.
Plus, the markets are still full of gorgeous nectarines, and ripe, beautiful tomatoes are practically given away.
Here´s a recipe to suit the times. Summery in looks, autumnal in texture. Porra antequerana, a stodgy tomato-based dip, close cousin to gazpacho, and twin sister of salmorejo. But I´ll deny having said that. You know how touchy people are about their regional dishes. Let´s just say that it´s a gorgeous dip, and has a very pretty colour that will make your hummus/tzatziki/tapenade layout all the more pleasing.
I´ve had this recipe from Cecilia, who is one of the best cooks in the world, and that includes Ferran Adrià and your mother.
Having said that, I´ll admit to having tweaked the recipe just a little. My vanity knows no bounds.
The basic recipe is made by soaking stale bread with water, adding ripe tomatoes, some garlic and oil, and blitzing to make a salmon coloured paste, as thick as hummus or slightly less,as you like.
Cecilia told me to take equal weights of tomatoes and bread, and I started out with 200 grams of bread from a country type loaf, crusts off. Instead of soaking it with water, she recommends peeling the tomatoes directly over, and letting their juice soak the bread. Leaven them standing a little while, or not, depending on your patience. I didn´t.
Add half a clove of garlic, a 1/4 cup olive oil, and salt to taste.
Blitz away. Depending on how juicy your tomatoes were, it will be a very thick paste, or a rubbly mess of soaked crumbs.
The canons now are to water it down until it´s to your liking. I thought, however, that since we´d started without water, it made more sense to just add tomatoes. That way, it didn´t become so thin so soon, but the flavour, my friends...
In the end I used up about half a kilo, and achieved a bowl of the most glorious orange stuff ever.
It´s traditionally served with bread or breadsticks, but that makes it "pan con pan, comida de tontos", as my darling Escolástica says.
Personally, I think it cries out for crudités, cucumber and red peppers being especially suitable, carrots and cauliflower also very nice.
10 comentarios:
Tomato season is on the wane here but not over yet, and this sounds like a wonderful thing to do with them. Also sounds like a recipe to remember for next August when we're in the height of tomato season.
This sounds so good. I love making dips, especially Middle Eastern ones like hummus. I am in the same boat as you with the season. It is still too early for soups and roasts, and the market is still full of summer fruit...I'm certainly not complaining!
Fascinating, I've never heard of this. It brings to mind a Spanish version of muhammara. And yeah, the first time I made a bread-based dip I thought it was a little weird to pair bread with more bread, but hey, if it tastes good...
Hi Ximena! I've never made a bread based dip before - this sounds quite interesting (especially being served with some fresh cukes)!
I prefer salmorejo rather than gazpacho. I find it easier to digest (no raw onion)
Relaxing pic!!
mmmm... there's a jewish Tapas place around the corner from my apt and they serve this
it's drool worthy.
sometimes i stop in just for an order of this and an order of jamon & melon, with a sneaky glass of wine
it's a nice, easy way to fill my tummy :-)
i never ever thought of making it at home, maybe i should....
I remember eating divinely thin slices of breaded and fried eggplant served with a tomato-bread dipping sauce, which the restaurant called salmorejo (brerenjenas fritas con salmorejo). It was thicker, though, more like this recipe. The name of the restaurant was Los Juevos de Lucio in la Latina barrio. I'm sure you've been.
I fondly remember Porra de Antequera (sic. antequerana) that I has in Riofrio. Been back again and again and again for it with some smoked trout. Yikes. Wow. Simple but one of the meals I remember always. What information I was able to get from a waiter had more veggies (some peppers, onions and probably more garlic). I am still playing to get what I am after, but it was very fun to see you had mentioned it. I Do iss Spain...
That was absolutely delicious! So correct me if I'm wrong - but this particular twin sister that we enjoyed in that tapas bar and in your lovely kitchen would then be the one you're talking about here (i.e. basically the same recipe, just Sister S is thinner and Sister P is thicker?)
Pille: I think with twins and with regional wranglings, it´s impossible for a stranger to tell them apart. Antequeranos say porra is thicker, but I´ve had it thin too. Just do it how you like and call it how you want, I think. I´m not allowed to call it salmorejo, but that´s what being married to an Antequerano does to you.
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