We were in Spain recently, and went for dinner at the very lovely Villa Padierna hotel, near to where we were staying. They have a few restaurants but we like the Tuscan one, which has a lovely terrace overlooking the back of the hotel grounds down towards the coast.
As an amuse bouche, before our food arrived, we were brought a soup made from white garlic with a mango foam. Sopa de Ajo Blanco is popular in Spain, but I’ve never tasted it, so, unsure what to expect we tucked in. The soup was chilled, with a sweet taste. A traditional version of this soup uses almonds, so that probably accounts for an almost ‘paste’ type texture – and weirdly, it didn’t taste of garlic at all.
The mango adds a zesty, fruity element to the soup which is pleasant, but it really felt like this soup didn’t know whether to be a starter or a desert. Not unpleasant, but not something I would order for myself.
Words and pictures by @ladylavish