Spanish almond soup

Peel the garlic and trim the spring onion. Remove the green pepper's seeds and stem. Chop the vegetables and drained piquillo. Thinly slice the bread. Heat the oil in a skillet and fry the almonds for about 5 min, watching closely until golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Use for the recipe: half a green bell pepper (prepare 1 green bell pepper).

In the same oil, cook the spring onion, green pepper and garlic. Add the piquillo, peppercorns, saffron, then the bread. Stir for about 10 min in total until the vegetables soften and the bread is lightly coloured. Meanwhile heat the stock in a saucepan.

Drain excess oil from the fried mixture. Put in a deep container with the almonds. Take a little hot stock and blend with the mixture to form a smooth paste. Stir the paste into the remaining stock. Bring to a simmer, skim if needed and cook gently for 10 min. Blend the soup finely and add the optional salt.