Ajoblanco

Ingredients

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• 150 g raw peeled almonds (Marcona, if possible)

• 90 g crumb of day-old white bread

• 1 small garlic clove

• 750 ml cold water

• 120 ml extra virgin olive oil

• 3 tablespoons white wine or sherry vinegar

• Salt

• To serve: peeled muscat grapes or diced melon

Preparation

1. 01Soak the breadRemove the crust from the bread, break up the crumb and moisten it with a little of the water to soften it.
2. 02Blend the basePut the almonds, drained bread, garlic, vinegar, salt and most of the water in the blender jar and blend to a very fine paste.
3. 03Emulsify with the oilWith the blender running, add the oil little by little, as if making mayonnaise, until you have a white, smooth cream.
4. 04Adjust the textureIf it is too thick, thin it with the remaining water. Taste and adjust the salt and vinegar.
5. 05Strain and chillPass it through a fine sieve to remove any fibres. Refrigerate for 4 to 12 hours so the flavours come together.
6. 06ServeServe well chilled, but not frozen, with the grapes or melon on top and a thread of oil.

Variations

• In Málaga it is traditionally served with muscat grapes, and in the Granada area with diced melon; some chefs add apple.
• The Extremaduran version is different: it has egg yolk and vegetables such as tomato or cucumber instead of almonds.
• In the post-war years, when almonds were scarce, some places replaced them with dried broad bean flour.