Soup · Spain · Granada

Ajo Blanco 🥣

Name: Ajo Blanco
Prep time: 12 min
Cook time: 18 min
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Spanish
Ingredients: 150 g stale white bread, crusts off, torn; 200 g blanched almonds; 1 garlic clove, germlined; 50 ml extra-virgin olive oil; 1 1/2 tbsp sherry or red wine vinegar; 1 tsp salt (+ to taste); 350 ml cold water (+ more to loosen); Green grapes and toasted flaked almonds, to serve; Black pepper and extra olive oil, to finish

Before gazpacho ever saw a tomato, Andalusia had ajo blanco — a Moorish-era cold soup of almonds, stale bread, garlic, olive oil and sherry vinegar, white as marble and thick as velvet. Granada's kitchens still pound it together for scorching summer days, serving it chilled with green grapes and toasted almonds afloat, a sweet-sour counterpoint to the nutty base. No cooking at all: just soak, blend and chill.

Andalusia Spanish ⏱ 30 min Easy

Method

1

Soak the torn bread in 350 ml water for about 10 minutes until fully soft.
2

Blend soaked bread with almonds, garlic, oil, vinegar and salt, adding ice-cold water until silky and pourable — thin, not watery.
3

Taste and sharpen with more vinegar or salt; the soup should be nutty, tangy and barely garlicky.
4

Chill at least 1 hour (overnight is better) so the raw garlic mellows.
5

Serve very cold, floated with green grapes and flaked almonds, finished with a slick of olive oil and cracked pepper.

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Ajo Blanco 🥣

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