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Jim Dixon wrote about food for WW for more than 20 years, but these days most of his time is spent at his olive oil-focused specialty food business Wellspent Market. Jim’s always loved to eat, and he encourages his customers to cook by sending them recipes every week through his newsletter. We’re happy to have him back creating some special dishes just for WW readers.
For Wellspent’s Tomato Fest I wanted to show how to use a box grater to transform fresh tomatoes into a simple purée. It’s simple, low tech and one of my favorite underused techniques. The grated tomatoes can be used for anything from bruschetta to salsa to sauce for pasta, and you can freeze them to save the summer flavor for the gray days ahead.
Spanish cooks typically use a blender to blitz tomatoes, garlic, vinegar, olive oil, and bread into salmorejo, a creamy gazpacho-like soup that’s served chilled to counter the heat of summer. I made a variation of the Andalusian classic that skips the blender in favor of soft, olive oil grilled croutons that soak up the tomato flavor in the bowl.
Recipe
1 lb tomatoes, grated
3 cloves (fresh, finely chopped)
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for grilling the bread
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon kosher-style sea salt
2–3 slices Shokupan or similar soft white bread
Cut the tomatoes in half on the equator, then rub the cut sides against the large holes of box grater set over a bowl; discard (or salt and eat) the skins. Occasionally large pieces of tomato flesh will detach from the skin, and if that happens, chop them finely and return to the bowl.
Add the garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt to the tomato pulp and stir until completely blended. Taste and add more salt or vinegar if needed. Chill for at least an hour, but remove from the refrigerator about 10 minutes before serving.
Use a skillet to grill the slices of bread in a thin slick of olive oil until just golden on both sides, then cut into small croutons about ½ inch square.
To serve, ladle the salmorejo into bowls, then add several croutons into each bowl and let them soak up the tomato broth for a few minutes. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top.
