An (Unpoisoned) Medieval Spanish Meal

My husband and I got in a horrible fight a few months ago and as I was contemplating how to handle the situation as a functional partner would...

so I decided to poison his garlic and almond soup. 

Simple enough.

Kidding. I am kidding.

I was actually sitting in my Middle Ages class and decided that I wanted to try to make the famed soup from A Poisoned Past - Spanish Ajoblanco.

Below is my photo journal of the process of making Spanish Ajoblanco and a rye loaf.

To give credit where credit is due, you can find the original recipes here:

Spanish Ajoblanco

Rye and Spelt Bread

First up, the soup:

Also, while we're giving credit...my sweet husband blanched and peeled these almonds. 

Bless him. 

I could say it was in order to make this experience as authentic to the de Portu's as possible-
after all, Johan did make the soup.

Blanching the almonds

Peeling the almonds

 Thanks hubs!

The finished Spanish Ajoblanco

 Now, the rye loaf...

I'm sure Himalayan Pink Salt is not Spanish Middle Ages-authentic, 
but I won't tell if you don't.

This was a thick dough - I could tell just by kneading it that one of the advantages of rye bread was how filling it was. 

My "wood fire oven"

Second dinner while finishing...this project!

I know you're dying for my review on the soup:

#1: My husband and I are alive and well. No poisoning. 

#2: I enjoyed it as a dipping soup - the rye bread complimented it well and toned down the garlic. My research indicated that most soups were served with bread to dip into them so this makes sense. The graininess of the almond base was unusual but not distasteful. This soup is supposed to be served cold; I am a fan of cold soups, so I liked this aspect of it. 

All in all, this was very different than soups I eat normally and I appreciated the opportunity to learn from the past and across the Atlantic.

“The table is important because the table is the place where time stops, 
if we choose for that to be true, if we build and adhere to that pattern. 
The table is where we can carve out sacred space to look people in the eye,
to hear the whole story, not just the text-able sound byte.” 
-Shauna Niequist, 2013