Iberiko Tomato Soup with white beans

INGREDIENTS

Black Iberiko Tomatoes — José & Antonio, Almería, Spain
White Beans — Larissa, Greece
Golden Onion – UK
Celery
Garlic – Murcia, Spain
Peeled Plum Tomatoes — Antonella, Sardinia, Italy
Dried Oregano — Daphnis and Chloe, Athens, Greece
Tomato Concentrate — Antonella, Sardinia, Italy
Red Wine Vinegar — Spain
Extra Virgin Olive Oil — Tom & Juli, Kyparissia, Greece
Natural Fine Sea Salt — Atlit, Israel
Black Peppercorns — Hill & Vale, Kerala, India

Working with fresh seasonal ingredients is complex. Weather conditions or other factors beyond our control mean that occasionally, we may have to top up our usual direct suppliers with market alternatives.

By building and managing stress in their plants, the brothers produce tomatoes with taut, wine-dark skins and a complex umami sweetness in their dense flesh.

We have included Ikeribos in our radically seasonal Winter Tomato category. Like RAF, Camone and Marinda, Iberikos can only reach their full potential when grown through winter, when low temperatures and fewer sunlight hours allow skilled growers to exert a level of stress on their plants that would be impossible in summer. Forced to mature slowly, Winter Tomatoes cling to the nutrients they need to survive and build sugars in the flesh.

It takes incredible intuition and skill for a grower to know exactly how far to push their plants, and what conditions will produce the firmness, vigour and complexity synonymous with the Winter Tomato name.

Third-generation growers José and Antonio make the most of their land in the Cabo de Gata National Park, where the sandy soil means the plants have to struggle for water and nutrients.

The brothers carefully monitor the amount of water used to irrigate their plants. Being on the coast, this water has a high salinity which adds vital stress to the growing conditions. This, along with the high mineralisation, gives the tomatoes firmness and vigour, as well as an intense red colour.

A rise in popularity has led growers to pass off substandard, dull varieties as ‘Iberico’. By patenting the name ‘Iberiko’, José and Antonio fight to protect the standard of the original seed.