Ajo blanco is a cold Spanish soup but it also works well as a sauce. You can either fry the grapes, as here, or peel each one and dice the flesh, then squeeze over some lemon before serving it along with the fish.
Prep time: 20 minutes | Cooking time: 10 minutes
SERVES
Six
INGREDIENTS
For the ajo blanco
- 2 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
- 100g blanched almonds
- 80g coarse white bread, torn
- 135ml extra-virgin olive oil
- 2½ tbsp sherry vinegar
- Juice of ½ lemon (or to taste)
For the grapes and fish
- olive oil, for frying
- 180g small white seedless grapes
- good squeeze of lemon
- 100g polenta or panko breadcrumbs
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 6 fillets of bream (about 100g each)
- wedges of lime, to serve
METHOD
To make the ajo blanco put the garlic, almonds and bread into a food processor and whizz, slowly adding the olive oil, and then 200ml very cold water. The mixture should end up being smooth, but not too thick.Add the sherry vinegar, season to taste and add as much lemon juice as you need (tasting all the time).Heat a tablespoon of oil and fry the grapes until they are slightly blistered. Season and squeeze lemon juice on top. Set aside.To cook the bream, mix the polenta or panko and smoked paprika together and season. Dip the fillets into the mixture to coat both sides, gently shaking off the excess.Heat two heavy-based frying pans over a high heat. Add a little oil and, when really hot, add the bream fillets, skin-side down. Cook for two minutes until the fish is golden and the underside is crisp.Turn the fillets over and cook on the other side for another minute.Serve the fish with the ajo blanco spooned alongside, the grapes and wedges of lime.ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7tbHLnp6rmaCde6S7ja6iaKqVmLaxsdJoZ2irlZZ6o77EmqRmq52kuKawjKmYqaqZoK5us9Gap56rXZa3sHnBpZinm59k