Tarator

Ingredients

• 500 g thick Bulgarian or Greek yogurt
• 2 cucumbers, about 500 g
• 3 garlic cloves
• 60 g walnuts
• 1 small bunch dill, finely chopped
• 3 tbsp sunflower or olive oil
• 300 ml very cold water
• 1 tsp salt
• Ice cubes, to serve

Before you cook

• Dice the cucumbers into small 5 mm cubes, or grate them coarsely if you prefer a thinner soup
• Finely chop the dill
• Crush the garlic to a paste with the salt

Steps

1. Toast the walnuts in a dry frying pan over medium heat for 3 minutes until they smell nutty.
2. Tip the walnuts onto a board and let them cool.
3. Crush the cooled walnuts roughly with the flat of a knife, leaving some pieces chunky.
4. Whisk the yogurt in a large bowl until completely smooth with no lumps.
5. Beat in the garlic paste.
6. Whisk in the cold water a little at a time until the soup is the consistency of single cream.
7. Stir in the diced cucumber, most of the dill and most of the walnuts.
8. Pour in the oil and stir it through.
9. Taste and add more salt, as under-salted tarator tastes flat.
10. Chill the bowl in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
11. Ladle into bowls, drop in an ice cube each, and finish with the reserved walnuts and dill.