There are few certainties in this life like that the best salmorejo in the world is made by my mother. Of course, since our family is from Antequera, I should say that my mother makes the best cheer in the world. It is possible that both phrases are true, and not only because Lola cooks deliciously, but because both dishes are first cousins: the salmorejo just needs a splash of vinegar and a piece of green pepper to become a baton. Only two ingredients distance them. It is the little, along with the 115 kilometers between Antequera and Córdoba, that makes two dishes with the same origin - and flavor - different. But what unites them separates them from other salmorejos that are much further from the classic concept, for which all kinds of vegetables and fruits are used, but also fish and meat. Yes, there are salmorejos to savor all summer without repeating one.
In the Cofradía Gastronómica del Salmorejo Cordobés they explain that salmorejo comes from a paste made by the Romans, but that it was in Córdoba exactly where they decided to add tomato (although this vegetable was introduced to the gazpacho in Extremadura, according to history). "Later, each place created its own variants," says the president of the entity, brother Eduardo Gallardo. There is no Andalusian town where salmorejo tastes the same, among other things because no two tomatoes, oils or breads are the same. For this reason, in the Cofradía Gastronómica del Salmorejo Cordobés they are especially picky about the ingredients that their plate must carry in order to be worthy of being so called. After many studies, symposia, conferences and publications, the entity has reached a consensus regarding the basic recipe. It's simple: a kilo of tomatoes, 200 grams of Cordoba telera bread, 100 grams of extra virgin olive oil, a clove of Montalbán garlic and 10 grams of salt. Everything in its proper measure: not one gram more, not one less.
The variety of tomatoes preferred by Cordobans is usually pear -although there are those who like to use branch tomatoes or a mixture of both- and it is advisable to leave them out of the refrigerator; if you have committed the sin of putting them in before, during the 24 hours before cooking them. Extra virgin olive oil is also key, like a good bread. If you use a gas station or anything else that looks more like gum, don't expect too many good results. Although they only recognize it in privacy, many Cordobans also add a little vinegar.
The Antequera club
The difference between this Antequera dish and salmorejo, as we pointed out at the beginning, is minimal. The concept is practically the same and its name comes from its original preparation, in a basin where the ingredients were crushed with a mallet (or baton). Luckily, there are blender glasses and kitchen machines today and you don't have to hit the ingredients during midmorning. The discordant point of the Antequera porra with the Cordovan salmorejo is that in Antequera and the surrounding towns - as in Archidona, where they also point out when claiming their origin - a piece of pepper and a splash of vinegar are usually added. . In some houses, the green pepper is replaced by the red one, which provides a sweeter flavor.
“In any case, the flavor changes in each house, nobody does it the same”, underlines the cook Esperanza Muñoz de León, whose restaurant, El Caserío de San Benito, is located practically on the border of Malaga and Córdoba. In her opinion, what most influences the dish is the variety of oil -and in Spain there are hundreds-, the type of tomato and bread. "The denomination is the least of it: sometimes you find salmorejos that look like truncheons and truncheons that look like salmorejos", highlights Muñoz de León. She tells us the secret of her recipe: six medium tomatoes, half a loaf of daily bread, a glass of extra virgin olive oil of the hojiblanca variety, a drizzle of vinegar, a clove of garlic, a teaspoon of salt, an egg soaked in water and a piquillo pepper (or a natural red one). To decorate, boiled egg, tuna, ham and some vegetables: generally tomato and pepper.
Fish salmorejos
In the Cofradía Gastronómica del Salmorejo Cordobés they are very purists, but they respect the variety of Antequera and do not deny other alternatives. In fact, there are some very far from the dish made in Córdoba in terms of concept, but very close in distance. One of them is made in the same province: the Salmorejo from Adamuceño, which could not be more different. It is a winter stew made from cod, vegetables and flour. A little further on, in Malaga, there is another fish salmorejo. This time it is traditional from Estepona and traditionally it has been made with volaó -flying fish- although sometimes it was made with other dried fish such as cod and it is a good example of traditional cuisine.
The Volao is a fish that tends to the sun to dry areas like the octopus or Levante- of Granada and later, after keep it with salt, eat. However, when it goes too long without being consumed, its meat becomes tougher. In order not to throw away any food, in Estepona they chopped it into small pieces, left it to soak for a day -to remove the salt and soften it- and then, after removing it from the water, add onion and chopped pepper and seasoned with oil , salt and lemon. This is how José María Valero, manager of the La Escollera restaurant, next to the Estepona fish market, remembers that his grandmother used to make it. "Although lately it was not necessary for the fish to get hard: the salmorejo was made because it was a cool dish and it accompanied the food," says this Esteponero. Other families in the area use horse mackerel as a base, a very cheap fish from Malaga. Recently there are those who prefer to use other species such as bonito.
Meat salmorejo
A little further north, in the towns of Valle del Genal, very close to Ronda, there is another version of the meat-based salmorejo. Its origin is related to the slaughter that traditionally took place in the houses of these small towns hidden between chestnut forests and limestone mountains, especially in places like Benarrabá or Genalguacil. Its main ingredients are pork loin; about a kilo, and the lard of the pig itself -about 200 grams, which can be substituted for olive oil-, and is completed with a couple of garlic, an onion, a glass of white wine, a bay leaf, two potatoes, salt and pepper.
Its preparation is very simple, as explained in the book La cocina de la Serranía de Ronda : the meat is cooked in small pieces in the oil (or its own butter) together with the unpeeled garlic and the bay leaf until it is browned by both sides. Then the wine is added until it evaporates. In another pan, fry the diced potatoes, which are finally added to the plate when serving together with the chopped chives. Traditionally it is taken hot or warm. With some variation in the recipe and served cold, the Kábilas restaurant, in Benarrabá, serves one of the most acclaimed in the area.
Porrilla of broad beans
More similar to the traditional salmorejo is the porrilla de habas, also from Malaga. It is originally from a municipality about twenty kilometers north of the capital, Casabermeja, although it is done in other nearby towns of the Montes de Málaga Natural Park. Its simplicity is probably its virtue. It is as quick to make as it is easy and tasty. To make it, there is nothing more than, basically, to substitute the tomato of the salmorejo for peeled beans. To the mixture, yes, a few almonds are added, which is reminiscent of the cordovan mazamorra. The blogger Ángeles Ballesta explains it step by step in this video.
Canarian salmorejo
Most salmorejos are made as a single dish or sometimes as an aperitif. However, there is a version that mainly serves as a sauce to accompany other foods. It is the Canarian salmorejo, which complements meat-eating dishes. The most famous is the rabbit dish in salmorejo. "It is a dish that has its origin in the cuisine of the peninsula and that shows that Canarian cuisine is a mixture of cultures and places that gives it a special richness," says Raúl Clemente, chef at the Mojo Rojo restaurant in Bajamar, north of the island of Tenerife. In fact, the first reference to salmorejo in the kitchen is closely related to this version. The Authorities Dictionary of 1739 explains that salmorejo is "a certain kind of sauce, with which rabbits are usually dressed, which is made up of pepper, salt, vinegar, and other spices."
Its preparation is based on a mash whose main ingredients are garlic and paprika, to which vinegar, oil and salt are added and it is completed with different aromatic herbs to taste-rosemary, thyme, bay leaf, oregano- as well as some pepper, like the picona or the palm tree, classic in the archipelago. The rabbit, chopped, is placed in this sauce for 24 hours (it may be enough to leave it the night before cooking). Then it is cleaned, it is browned in a pan and it is transferred to a pot where the majao, a little wine and a splash of water are also included. Half an hour later, the rabbit will be tender and the plate ready, and many prefer to accompany it with some wrinkled potatoes. "It is a recipe similar to the rabbit with garlic that is made in places like Jaén, but here the red mojo is made, which is used as a marinade", the chef emphasizes.
Salmorejo with vegetables and fruits
The Canarian salmorejo is very far from Cordovan, which also has its variants in the province of Córdoba itself. The brothers recognize it: "The chefs make fancy items and that is very good," says the president of the brotherhood, "but everything that is not exactly that dish should be called salmorejo, not cordovan salmorejo," Gallardo highlights. It is there, in the surname, where the key is. "When you take away the Cordovan thing, the family of salmorejos made with the same philosophy is huge," says Juan José Ruiz, who has come to create a hundred varieties of this dish. Ten of them are included in his book La salmoreteca , where there are also recipes for gazpachos, tortillas and cold drinks. There is also a very useful chapter to detect the errors that we have been able to make with our Cordovan salmorejo and how to solve them. If your plate has little color, too much bread flavor, you get a lot of lumps or the garlic repeats a lot, this work has the solution.
As a student, Ruiz was inspired by the classification of small and large basic sauces to make numerous varieties of salmorejo. Today he offers them in his restaurant La Salmoreteca, located in the Mercado de la Victoria de Córdoba. But also in Carrefour supermarkets, where it already sells four varieties: the classic, its ancestor the mazamorra, the beet salmorejo and the avocado. "You have to dare, play, have fun," encourages the chef to those who have doubts about going outside the canons. The chef's philosophy is to take the traditional recipe as a reference and, from there, make small modifications with great results.
So, for example, you get a beet salmorejo simply by removing half of the tomatoes and replacing them with boiled beets. The squid ink does not have more than to include a teaspoon of this already pasteurized product and eight grams of nori seaweed. From there, mango, orange, blueberry, strawberry, or even chocolate. "Basically it is reinterpreting a dish in different ways," emphasizes Ruiz, who is creating new recipes by playing with the original. Just as tradition says that it should be accompanied with a little ham and boiled egg, it can be accompanied by many other products: from tuna to smoked or grated vegetables. The important thing, when summer arrives, is to serve any of the varieties very cool: especially in Córdoba, where 40 degrees are visited regularly.
Other chefs and media specialized in gastronomy have also signed up for the fancy salmorejo. Without going any further, in this holy house there has been a battle between the traditional salmorejo and one made with beets and a touch of blue cheese, with the pulp of the beet as the only thickener -no bread- (and the result may surprise you) , and we have also prepared it with cherries, walnuts and feta. If you find it difficult to include fruit in your diet, salmorejo can help you to do so: chef Miquel Antoja tells you how to prepare a delicious version with strawberries, with a beautiful plate. The acidity of the granny smith apple - peeled, in this case, so as not to find the pieces of the hard skin - will also do very well, just like raspberries or papaya. Do you have doubts about which fruits you can use in the salmorejo and which not? Check out this guide to sensible fruity gazpachos from our colleague Miriam García: everything that is gazpacheable is also susceptible to becoming salmorejo.
Salmorejo recipe by Juan José Ruiz
Ingredients
For 4 people
- 1 kg of pear tomato
- 10 g of purple garlic from Montalbán
- 10g salt
- 150 g of brown crumb bread
- Between 100 - 150 ml of oil, depending on the intensity of its flavor
- Chopped ham and hard-boiled egg to taste to accompany
Preparation
Dip the bread, drain it and blend with the tomatoes, the peeled garlic, the oil and the salt for three minutes, or until you get a smooth paste.
Cool to taste and serve with diced ham and hard-boiled egg.
Beet salmorejo
Substitute 400 g of tomato for 400 g of cooked beet, and prepare it as in the previous case. It can be served with a little crumbled blue cheese.
Mushroom salmorejo
Sauté a little garlic, onion and various varieties of mushrooms in a pan and substitute half a kilo of tomatoes from the original recipe for half a kilo of that sauce. Eliminate about 50 grams of bread, since the mushrooms will thicken the dough, and prepare it as in the first recipe. It can be accompanied with a little golden diced bacon in a pan.
Corn salmorejo
Substitute half of the tomato for yellow tomato and the other half for cooked corn, and proceed as in the first case. It can be topped with feta cheese and chives.
Avocado Salmorejo
Ingredients
- 800 g avocado pulp
- 200 g of green tomato
- Between 50 and 80 grams of bread
- 10 grams of garlic
- 50 g of green apple
- Some basil leaves
- Trout or smoked salmon to accompany
Preparation