Green garlic and spinach soup with tarator

Make tarator: soak bread in 1/2 cup (125 ml) of water for 5 minutes, then gently squeeze it dry. Using a mortar and pestle or a food processor, pound or pulse the bread, walnuts, olive oil and salt to the consistency of chunky peanut butter, then fold in the lemon juice and vinegar.

Peel the garlic to remove the tough outer layers, then nip off any little roots at the base. Chop the stem into 2 cm lengths and cut the bulb in half.

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Sweat the garlic for 5 minutes or until soft, then add 1 litre of water and the salt. Bring to a simmer for 3 minutes, then fold in the spinach, using tongs to push it under the water. Remove from the heat after 30 seconds and use a stick blender to puree until smooth.

Divide the soup among bowls and dollop a couple of tablespoons of the tarator on top. Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.