David Atherton’s recipe for ajo blanco

I remember the first time I had gazpacho. It blew my mind. Cold soup wasn’t a thing in my rural Yorkshire home but I quickly conditioned myself to this world of chilled deliciousness. Where gazpacho is bold and refreshing, ajo blanco is rich and winsome. The body of this garlic soup from Andalucia consists of almonds blended until smooth, and served ice-cold. I think the recipe works best if you freeze the almonds before blending, and I like to punch up the garlic by adding another clove. For some people, it’s a step too far to have a chilled soup, but I’m going to encourage you to ditch that protein shake after a workout and drink this by the glass.

Makes two glasses.

50g slightly stale white bread (crusts off)300ml water100g blanched almonds (frozen)60ml olive oil1 crushed clove garlic50g cucumber, peeled30g granny smith apple, peeled1 tbsp sherry vinegar½ tsp salt

Soak the bread in the cold water for 15 minutes. Remove the almonds from the freezer, and put in a blender with the olive oil and garlic, and blend until smooth.

Next, tip the bread and water into the blender along with the cucumber, apple, vinegar and salt. Blend until really smooth and silky.

Chill in the freezer while you head out for exercise (or in the fridge if you’re going out for more than two hours).