"This is a deconstructed version of the cold soup version of salmorejo which makes for a wonderful, fresh, succulent and colourful salad, perfect for summer, and shouldn’t be confused with the similarly named conejo al salmorejo, which is a typical rabbit stew in the Canary Islands in which the meat is marinated in garlic, herbs and pimentón (paprika).

Ask your butcher to cut the rabbit into six, giving four legs and two loins, and keeping the lard from around the kidneys. Dotted on to the rabbit pieces, this will melt in the oven, keeping the meat succulent and moist and helping it to brown nicely.

The salad can be served warm or chilled - either way it is good with some country bread and a glass of dark, aromatic red wine from El Bierzo in the province of León".

METHOD

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas 4.
2. Put the rabbit pieces in a roasting pan and season with salt, pepper and the oregano. Break up the lard and dot some on each piece of rabbit, then drizzle with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil.
3. Put the peppers into an ovenproof dish and smear with another tablespoon of olive oil. Wrap the head of garlic in foil.
4. Put the roasting pan containing the rabbit, the dish of peppers and the foil-wrapped garlic into the preheated oven and leave all three for 20 minutes, until the rabbit is golden, the skins of the peppers have darkened and are beginning to char and the garlic is soft.
5. Halfway through the baking time, put the tomato into a separate dish and put into the oven for 10 minutes. Add the spring onions to the dish of peppers for the last 5 minutes.
6. Take everything out of the oven, cover the red peppers with a tea towel and let them sweat to make peeling them an easier task.
7. When cool enough to handle, strip the rabbit meat from the bones and put into a serving bowl. Peel the peppers, cut them into strips and add them to the rabbit. Peel the tomato and chop it finely; strip off the outer layers of the spring onions and slice diagonally; then add these two ingredients to the bowl. Peel 2 of the cloves of garlic and mash them with a fork, then add this pulp to the bowl, along with the rest of the whole roasted cloves.
8. Combine the rest of the olive oil and the sherry vinegar and toss through the salad. Taste, season with salt if necessary, and serve.