Opinion – Recipes from Marcão: Gazpacho’s older brother, ajoblanco is an easy-to-make cold soup

Everyone knows gazpacho, made with tomato, cucumber and other things, but it is just a sample of a Spanish culinary tradition: cold soup.

Among these soups, the oldest is probably ajoblanco, a recipe that is as simple as it is delicious — based on bread, almonds, oil, vinegar and, of course, garlic.

While gazpacho could only exist after the Spaniards brought tomatoes from the Americas, ajoblanco has origins in Classical Antiquity.

It is said that the soup descends from a mush that the Romans prepared with bread and vinegar. The Arabs, who occupied the Iberian Peninsula in medieval times, would have been responsible for the popularization of almonds in the region.

Today, ajoblanco is considered part of the gastronomy of Malaga, in Andalusia, precisely the part of Spain that best preserves the cultural heritage of the Moorish occupation.

Preparing ajoblanco is ridiculously simple: just blend all the ingredients in a blender. The shopping list for this recipe might seem a bit simplistic, but all the elements fit perfectly into the flavor balance.

The bread is the mortar, the sustenance of the dish. Almonds and olive oil deliver greasiness and more complex aromas. Garlic and vinegar sharpen a mixture that would otherwise be flat and dull.