An unassuming lift in a 1970s apartment block opened on to a kaleidoscopic pattern-on-pattern-on-pattern apartment, where a petite woman of great character was poised to make ajo blanco with us. White garlic, white bread and white almonds against a house of red, pink, green and purple. A dainty, creamy, chilled soup produced by a grandmother who danced about her kitchen with extreme agility, spilling things and laughing endlessly. It was a splendid, sensory onslaught from the moment we arrived.
At one point we asked what the tray on the wall was used for. It had a plate, cutlery and cups painted into its surface in childlike strokes. ‘Breakfast in bed – every day!’ she told us. When we asked what that involved, she decided she’d perform it for us. Within 10 minutes she was sitting up under the covers in her pink- and- white nightie, spooning homemade marmalade onto toast.
We ate the soup from a giant porcelain soup tureen with a carnation strapped to the handle. This soup can be eaten immediately, but is better chilled for a couple of hours for the flavours to fuse. We took the time to fuse too, with a glass of red and a sliver of prosciutto. Then all eight women gathered around her Vogue-Living-worthy dining table to dine on ajo blanco and pimientos del pico rellenos de bacalao, a dish from her childhood in northern Spain.
Feeds 4
Takes 20 minutes, plus 2 hours chilling
Ingredients
125g white bread, crusts removed (it’s good to use up stale bread)
75g blanched almonds
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
100g melon, cubed (galia or honeydew work well)
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
100ml good olive oil
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp water
handful fresh parsley, finely chopped
Method
Soak the bread in water for 10 minutes.
Squeeze out the bread a little and add to a blender with the almonds, garlic, melon, vinegar, oil, egg, salt and water.
Blend for 4 minutes, until smooth and the consistency of single cream. Add more water, if needed.
Transfer into a bowl and put it into the fridge for at least 2 hours before serving into bowls with an extra drizzle of olive oil on top and a sprinkle of fresh parsley.