We tried our own take on a recipe presented by Pepe Solla at the Salón de Gourmets in Madrid last week. The gastronomic trade fair features food producers, winemakers, chefs, and loads of delicious food and drink.
For the ajoblanco recipe, we tried one found on epicurious.com posted by Bon Apétit Magazine, adding a bit of green apple to the traditional white gazpacho. To maintain a Spanish theme, try a cabrales blue cheese, but any variety you enjoy will probably do just fine. The mussels in escabeche combined with the flavor of the blue cheese and the ajoblanco seemed to work out well, as I ate all the models for the photographs.
We served them in shot glasses to keep the proper ratio of mussels to cheese to ajoblanco. Also, because it was easiest.
Total Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients
1 jar (7.58 ounces) - bonito tuna in olive oil
1 - scallion
3 tablespoons - mayonnaise
1 loaf - crusty brown bread
chives, tomatoes, or other topping can be added as desired
Directions
1. Drain the oil off the tuna.
2. Chop the olives.
3. Chop the scallion finely.
4. Mix the scallion, olives, mayonnaise, and tuna in a bowl, mashing the tuna with a fork.
5. Spread and serve on toasted slices of the brown bread. If you'd like, sprinkle snipped chives on top and add a few cherry tomatoes for color.
