This is not a particularly traditional version of this recipe, but if you have ripe delicious tomatoes, it makes a beautiful piquant summer soup—a sort of liquid salad—that’s worth all the grating, pounding, and dicing. For a light summer meal, add a few shrimp—or other fish or shellfish—to the soup.

　　

Ingredients

makes about 3 quarts; 6 to 8 servings

　　1 dried ancho chile

　　2 cups crustless cubes of day-old country-style white bread

　　2 garlic cloves

　　A pinch of salt

　　5 pounds ripe tomatoes

　　1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　Salt

　　1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved

　　1 cucumber, peeled and diced

　　1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced

　　1/2 red onion, diced

　　A handful each of chopped chervil and basil

　　2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

　　1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

　　Fresh-ground black pepper

　　

Step 1

Soak in a bowl of hot water for 15 minutes: 1 dried ancho chile.

　　

Step 2

Drain and crush to a paste with a medium-size mortar and pestle. Remove and set aside.

　　

Step 3

In another bowl, soak in cold water for 2 minutes: 2 cups crustless cubes of day-old country-style white bread.

　　

Step 4

Drain and squeeze out the excess water.

　　

Step 5

In the mortar and pestle, pound together into a paste: 2 garlic cloves, A pinch of salt.

　　

Step 6

Add the soaked bread, pound until smooth, and set aside.

　　

Step 7

Cut in half horizontally: 5 pounds ripe tomatoes.

　　

Step 8

Over a bowl, grate the cut sides of the tomatoes on the medium holes of a box grater until only the skin is left. Discard the skins. Pass the pulp through a strainer to remove seeds, if you like. Stir the chile purée and the bread paste into the tomato pulp in a large bowl. Add: 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, Salt.

　　

Step 9

Refrigerate until well chilled. To speed this up you can set the bowl in another, larger bowl filled with ice. Taste for seasoning before serving and add more salt if needed.

　　

Step 10

Make a relish to garnish the soup. Mix together: 1/2 pound cherry tomatoes, halved, 1 cucumber, peeled and diced, 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced, 1/2 red onion, diced, A handful each of chopped chervil and basil, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, Salt, Fresh-ground black pepper.

　　

Step 11

Divide the chilled soup among 6 to 8 bowls and add a generous spoonful of relish to each bowl.

　　The Art of Simple Food