Cold soups and limonana

Salmorejo de remolacha, ajo blanco and limonana

“The wind is in from Africa, last night I couldnt sleep..”, The words of the old Joni Mitchell song keep rolling round my head as the shutters rattle with the  strong levante wind which has been blowing relentlessly  for almost three weeks. The wind in is from Africa and at times I imagine the dust in the air is the sand from the Sahara blowing down the streets.

It’s hot and it’s dry. As far as cooking is concerned, the oven is off limits. We can only face fruit and salads and ice cold soups. So, after my salmorejo discovery, I have gone on to try out a few more. Inspired by both Judith’s and Nestor’s comments on my last post, I’ve tried Salmorejo de Remolacha – which is basically cold beet soup – Spanish style. I checked out a few recipes online but realise, once again, that its one of those things you can pretty much improvise. Having never tried it made by anyone else, I wouldn’t really know how mine compares, but I’ve already made it about 4 times in the last couple of weeks and I love it.

What I do is pretty simple – very much like the traditional salmorejo but going a bit lighter on the bread and oil.

• Cook about 4 whole unpeeled beets. Allow to cool then remove the skin. (or use ready cooked vacuum packed beets – probably just fine)
• Chop them up roughly and blend with a clove or two of garlic, a little  day old bread, a tomato, some glugs of olive oil and a little vinegar.
• Add water to get the consistency you want and salt to taste.
• Chill in the fridge for a few hours. The flavour develops as it cools so do some final adjustments once it’s nice and cold. You can eat it as is or dollop on a spoonful of sour cream or thick yoghurt when you serve.

The result is intensely beety – slightly sweet, slightly earthy. If you are a beet fan, try it. Tasty and refreshing.

Years ago in a previous life in Israel, I came across a huge bunch of fresh green almonds still attached to the branch. I had no idea what to do with  it but I bought it anyway. I decided on Ajo Blanco , the Spanish cold almond soup I had seen in cookbooks but never tried. What a lot of work! Getting the almonds out of the green husk and then the shell was really laborious and the whole thing took hours. I vaguely recall ending up with something quite heavy which was  nice  but not worth the work and thus Ajo Blanco became a distant memory. However, two years ago in a tiny tapas bar in Seville, I tried an Ajo Blanco which was simply stunning. It was so good that I think we reordered 3 or 4 times. Ajo Blanco translates as ‘white garlic’ but it isnt really garlicy – it has just delicate creamy almond flavour. Quite sublime.

Again the process is similar –

• Take about 200 gr freshly blanched almonds, (blanch them yourself by soaking for a few minutes in boiling water),
• Add some day old white bread, olive oil, garlic, a little wine or sherry vinegar to finish.
• Add water if it’s too thick, and salt to your liking.
• Put into the fridge to chill then taste again.
• Traditionally it’s served with halved green grapes on top though some people also put slices of crisp green apple. In the tapas bar in Seville it was served with tiny cubes of fresh tuna. Either way, keep the serving small because it’s rich. It’s full of all that healthy oleic acid in both the olive oil and the almonds

If you are not a fan or beets or almonds then Ive got one more chilling discovery to share, by courtesy of my mate Anne who told me about Limonana. This is not Spanish at all but an Israeli drink – a very thick minty lemonade. (na’ana = mint) which is amazingly refreshing. Once again, lots of versions of this drink around, but this one worked for me:

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1+3/4 cups water,
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 3-4 cups ice (I crushed mine first because I don’t have a very strong blender)
• 1 cup fresh mint leaves + a few to garnish

First combine the sugar and 1 cup of water in a pan and stir till it dissolves. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Then put everything into a blender – lemon juice, mint, ice and water – and blend till it turns bright green and frothy. Add more sugar if it’s still sour.

I’ve read that a shot of vodka goes well in this. Might be worth a try!