Ajo blanco is a cold Spanish soup but it works really well as a sauce too
Diana Henry The Telegraph's award-winning cookery writer
Diana Henry is the Telegraph’s much-loved cookery writer. She shares recipes each week, for everything from speedy family dinners to special menus that friends will remember for months. She is also a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4, and her journalism and recipe books, including Simple and How to Eat a Peach, are multi-award-winning. A mother of two sons, Diana can satisfy even the fussiest of eaters.
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What did we eat before we learnt how to roast Mediterranean vegetables? They’re easy and the leftovers always fill my heart with joy when I see them in the fridge. It means a good lunch.
Ajo blanco is a cold Spanish soup but it works really well as a sauce too. If you’re not serving this dish with others as part of a feast, it’s good with couscous or bulgur wheat on the side.
Overview
Prep time
15 mins
Cook time
45 mins
Serves
6
as part of a spread
Ingredients
For the vegetables
- 1 large aubergine
- 2-3 courgettes
- 4 plum tomatoes or vine tomatoes, halved
- 1 yellow pepper, halved, deseeded and sliced
- 1 red pepper, halved, deseeded and sliced
- 6 tbsp olive oil
- some soft light-brown sugar (optional, but good if your tomatoes are a bit insipid)
For the ajo blanco
- 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
- 100g blanched almonds
- 80g coarse white bread, without crusts, torn
- 135ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2½ tbsp sherry vinegar
- juice of ½ lemon, or add to taste
Method
Step
Heat the oven to 210C/200C fan/gas mark 7.
Step
Halve 1 large aubergine lengthways then cut each half into wedges, about 1cm thick at the thickest part. Remove the tip and base from 2-3 courgettes and cut into slices, slightly on the diagonal.
Step
Line a large roasting tin with baking parchment (this makes it easier to move the vegetables to a serving dish).
Step
Choose a smaller lined tin in which to roast 4 halved plum tomatoes or vine tomatoes – they should lie in a single layer. The reason for cooking them separately is that the tomatoes create a lot of moisture, which makes the vegetables steam instead of roasting.
Step
Spread the aubergine, courgette, 1 sliced yellow pepper and 1 sliced red pepper in a single layer in the large tin.
Step
Set the tomato halves in the smaller tin. Season both tins and drizzle with 6 tbsp olive oil.
Step
Toss everything, finishing with the tomatoes cut-side up. Sprinkle some soft light-brown sugar on each half if you think they need it – if tomatoes don’t have a great flavour this helps.
Step
Put both tins in the oven and roast for 35-45 minutes, checking them during that time to make sure no edges are getting too scorched – move the vegetables around to avoid this. They should be soft, glossy and a little shrunken.
Step
Meanwhile, to make the ajo blanco, put 2 grated garlic cloves, 100g blanched almonds and 80g torn coarse white bread (without crusts) into a food processor and, with the motor running, gradually add 135ml extra-virgin olive oil and 100ml chilled water. You might not need all of the water – but the mixture shouldn’t be thick, it should be pourable.
Step
Now the crucial bit – add 2 tbsp of the sherry vinegar and season.
Step
Tasting all the time, add more vinegar, seasoning and adding as much of the juice of ½ lemon as you think you need. This is where you make the ajo blanco delicious – or not.
Step
Transfer the vegetables and tomatoes to a large plate or broad, shallow serving bowl.
Step
Drizzle the ajo blanco on top and serve any you don’t use on the side.