Ajo Blanco with Cherry & Mint Salsa

Some things catch up with us later in life. My maternal granny, the biggest influence on my cooking life, and perhaps my life in general, adored cold soups. Preferably of the creamy, prawny, and curry powdered variety. And she was right. Cold soup is the next best thing after hot soup, and hot soup is one of the very best things of all. 

What with all these heatwaves, what could be better than an ivory bowl of creamy garlic and almond soup, one of my favourite recipes I learnt in the early days of my cooking life back at the Dock Kitchen. The colours with the stain of scarlet cherries and pale green pistachios are so pretty, and the flavours positively sing of summer. You need no oven and no time, just ten minutes, one bowl and a blender. 

A fancy little solo lunch if ever I saw one. Eat in the heat, and feel glad. 

Serves 2, generously 

150g blanched almonds

2 small cloves or garlic 

about 3 small glasses of cold water 

a good dash of sherry vinegar 

salt 

extra virgin olive oil 

a few cherries, stoned 

a few mint leaves

1 lemon 

a few pistachios (optional, but if you have them why not) 

purple basil (optional again, but I had some)

Method 

Blitz the almonds and garlic in a fine blender (you need the jug style one here to get it properly fine, a magi mix or hand blender sadly won’t do). They should form a fine, beguilingly scented rubble. 

Add the water a little at a time, still blitzing, until a double-cream-like consistency is achieved. 

Add salt (be generous) and your best olive oil, a good two table spoons, and a splash of sherry vinegar. Taste. It should be creamy, slightly smoky,a little tangy, rich from the oil and nuts. Add a good squeeze of lemon juice, taste, stir and season again (more oil? more salt? more acidity? Make sure it’s highly flavoured. Chill. 

Take out the cherry stones as best you can (I cut around them then suck the stones so not to waste any flesh) and chop the cherries into attractive ish pieces. Toss with chopped mint, basil more olive oil and salt and lemon juice and zest. 

Serve the soup cold (or immediately, like I did, with some ice cubes in to cool it perfectly) and tumble the salsa on top. Garnish with fresh herbs and eat, in dappled sunlight and utter bliss.