Ajo Blanco

GARLIC POWER!!!!

Ajo means garlic and Blanco, white... easy and simple name for a simple dish! Back to the origins of this dish, as happens with many others too, the idea to use garlic, almonds, bread and olive oil came from the use of handy and cheap products. Andalusia is a southern Spanish region known for its wonderful Olive oil, its beautiful beaches, its shinny white village houses, its history... A dream to visit!

Even though the name of the dish might indicate the use of lots of garlics, it's not the case, you will only need 1 for the Ajo Blanco Soup, instead, the main ingredients here are the almonds and the bread.

Garlic has been known through the years for its amazing properties, it's a: vasodilator, hypotensive, anti platelet, lipid lowering, hypoglycemic, bactericidal, fungicidal, antiviral and vermifuge... a pharmacy in your garden!!!
Almonds also have the following properties: laxative, anti-inflammatory, emollient and healing.

Have one bowl of Ajo blanco and you will get indestructible!!! ;-)

Ingredients for 4 servings: 75 grs of raw almonds (not toasted), 1 garlic clove, 100 grs of the white part of the bread (not the crust), 6 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 2 tablespoons of Jerez Vinegar, 1 1/2 liters of mineral water, toasted bread crumbs.

• Place the bread inside a big bowl full of water.
• Get a small pot with water over the heat and when it boils add the almonds. Let them boil for only 30 seconds. Strain and rinse them. Take their peel away and reserve.
• Peel the garlic and place it inside a mortar with some salt. Smash it and add the almonds. Smash until you get an homogeneous paste.
• Add the bread previously drained from the water to the mortar. Stir all ingredients until the mix well together.
• Add the olive oil little by little while you keep on stirring. Once the paste has absorbed the oil, add the vinegar little by little. Now pour some of the water until you get an emulsion.
• Pour the emulsion into a soup recipient and add the rest of the water. Taste and add salt to fit your taste. Stir and place in the fridge.
• Eat cold. Just before serving the dish, toast some bread and add to the Ajo blanco. You can also fry the bread crumbs in some garlic oil. Place over kitchen paper so that they leave the oil there and add to the Ajo blanco soup.

Hope your partner, boyfriend, girlfriend also enjoys ajo ;-)