Ajo Blanco (Spanish Chilled Almond and Garlic Soup)

I already have my gazpacho alentejano on the site, the tomato and bread version my father’s side would recognize immediately, but the first time a friend from Malaga made me its pale cousin, ajo blanco, I could not believe I had gone this long without it. It is older than gazpacho, actually, from a time before tomatoes made their way to Spain from the Americas, and it is built instead from almonds, garlic, stale bread and good olive oil, blended until silky and served ice cold.

The name means white garlic, and while raw garlic can be aggressive, the almonds and bread mellow it into something rounder than you’d expect, more like a chilled almond cream with a savory backbone than anything sharp. Traditionally it is served with a few halved Muscat grapes floating on top, sweet against the garlicky, nutty soup, though a sliced green apple works nearly as well if grapes are out of season.

This is one of those recipes that saves a summer dinner when it is too hot to cook anything, no stove required, and it actually tastes better after a couple of hours in the fridge, so it is worth making a little ahead.

Ajo Blanco Recipe

Prep time: 15 minutes (plus 2 hours chilling) · Cook time: 0 minutes · Total: 15 minutes plus chilling · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~280 per serving

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups blanched almonds
• 2 cups stale crustless white bread, torn into pieces
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled
• 3 tablespoons sherry vinegar
• 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 to 2 1/2 cups cold water
• 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 cup halved green or Muscat grapes, for serving
• Extra olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions

1. Soak the torn bread in a little water for 5 minutes, then squeeze out the excess liquid.
2. In a blender, combine the almonds, soaked bread and garlic with 2 cups of the cold water. Blend until very smooth, a full 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed.
3. With the blender running on low, drizzle in the olive oil in a slow stream until the soup turns pale and emulsified.
4. Add the sherry vinegar and salt, and blend once more to combine. Thin with additional water, a little at a time, until the soup reaches a pourable, cream-like consistency.
5. Taste and adjust salt and vinegar; the soup should taste rounded, not sharply garlicky. If the raw garlic is too assertive for your taste, blend it in gradually and taste as you go.
6. Chill at least 2 hours. Serve very cold in bowls, topped with halved grapes and a final drizzle of olive oil.

Recipe Notes

• If raw garlic is too much for you, simmer the cloves in water for 2 minutes first to take the edge off before blending.
• Marcona almonds give the most authentic, slightly sweet flavor, but any raw blanched almond works fine.
• This keeps well covered in the fridge for up to 2 days, and the flavor actually deepens overnight.
• No sherry vinegar on hand? A good white wine vinegar is an acceptable substitute, though sherry vinegar’s nutty edge is worth seeking out.