El Dorado Roasted Tomato Soup

Today, in this post, El Dorado does not refer to the Spanish name for mahi-mahi or the mythical city of gold. Today, we use it to refer to a luxury resort on the sunny and golden Caribbean shores of Mexico in the Yucatan, El Dorado Royale, the main all-inclusive resort of the family-owned Grupo Lomas. My Dewey and I are members of their Exotic Travelers club. As such, we are treated to many extras during our annual one-week stay at El Dorado. This year we visited in April. Beautiful weather, and the usual fine and traditional dining that this resort has built its reputation on for the past four decades. If you're here for the soup recipe, click to download in printable format.

The elegant crouton for Roasted Tomato Soup served at El Dorado Royale.

With chefs Isidro (L) and Efrain (R) at the members-only dinner.

I typically prefer the traditional dishes of whichever country we are visiting. I want the people's food. I will opt for a torta with local ingredients, fresh fruit from the region, and a traditional tortilla like El Pastor. I'm so into authenticity that one year I ate a scorpion taco! But, being a true foodie, when a beautifully prepared four-course dinner is offered, I will not turn it down.

Beautiful El Dorado Royale in the Yucatan.

At one of the Exotic Travelers member dinners, Alex Espinoza, events coordinator for the club, unveiled a new concept. We thought it was brilliant!  Alex had arranged the seating so that a few of the club's employees would be seated at the tables with guests. We enjoyed our dinner with Aaron, a guest experience concierge, and Gandhi, the assistant events coordinator. How wonderful to get to know the people who work to provide you with such a pampered experience, and how amazing it was to see chefs and kitchen cooks preparing food for your dinner! I'm always grateful when any experience connects me with real people. 

I was fortunate to cook beside Chef Efrain, the resort's corporate executive chef for over twenty years. That's dedication! And a big responsibility. Alongside Chef Efrain was Executive Chef Isidro, with responsibility for all banquets and members-only dinners. The team had built and staged a kitchen beside one of the smaller swimming pools and introduced the chefs who were responsible for all of our dining experiences throughout the resort. Then they invited volunteers to cook each of the courses with the chefs. Of course, I had to raise my hand for that one.

Chef Efrain was generous enough to share his velvety tomato soup recipe with me and gave permission to share it with you. You can find it here. I prepared the soup in my home kitchen and encourage you to try it too. It's not fussy, and all ingredients are available at neighborhood grocery stores, but be sure to select ripe tomatoes for the best flavor.  This soup was my favorite of the evening's offerings.

Many thanks to Alex Espinoza for following up to send me the recipe, information and photos. 

The soup as prepared in my home kitchen.

The following photos are from the member dinner.