Name: Goats’ curd, golden beetroot, grapes, poached pear and ajo blanco
Yield: For 6 as a starter
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 250 g (9 oz.) golden beetroot (beet), peeled and sliced 5mm (¼in.) thick; 2 tbsp sherry vinegar; 3 pears; ½ medium-heat green chilli, thinly sliced into rings; 50 g (1¾ oz./⅔ cup) flaked almonds, lightly toasted; a little cress for garnish (I used red veined sorrel); 1 bay leaf; 85 g (3 oz./scant ½ cup) caster (superfine) sugar; 4 tbsp olive oil; 50 g (1¾ oz./⅓ cup) whole almonds, skinned (see above); 1 lemon, peeled, avoiding pith, and juiced; 30 g (1 oz.) slice sourdough bread, crusts removed, toasted then broken into pieces; 300 g (10½ oz.) goats’ curd (or use any other fresh white cheese); 2 garlic cloves, sliced; 2 tbsp lemon juice; 100 g (3½ oz./1 cup) green and black grapes, thinly sliced

Preparation info

For
6
as a starter

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Savour

By Peter Gordon

Published 2016

About

Ajo blanco is a chilled uncooked soup from Andalusia in Spain, which I’ve eaten and enjoyed many times, usually garnished with halved grapes. Here I use it as a very plentiful dressing. Choose cooking pears that are firm but ripe: varieties such as Comice, Anjou and Conference work well. Use whole almonds with the skin on and then remove the skin yourself for the best result. Simply place them in a heatproof bowl and pour on enough boiling water to cover by 3cm (1¼in.). Leave to cool, then