Summer cooking and eating needs to be leisurely, refreshing and straightforward. Slowly grilling meat and seafood on the barbecue, for instance, is an ideal way to enjoy good food in the warm weather. As is throwing together a salad full of fresh, seasonal, crunchy vegetables. And in Spain, chilled gazpacho is an essential dish for the hottest season of the year.
The deliciousness of the soup is matched by the fun of adding the accompanying toppings of croutons, cucumber and onion. However, while tomato based gazpacho is a hit not just here, but also abroad, ajo blanco (white gazpacho) is much less famous. The provenance of ajo blanco is the cause of some discussion: certain opinion attributes its source to Arab cuisine, while others argue that it has Jewish heritage as there is mention in the Old Testament of a dish that bears some resemblance to it. But most people agree that it’s a Moorish recipe, dating at least from the 13th century when it was being served in al-Andalus. The tomato and pepper version did not appear until after Columbus had sailed the ocean blue and brought those ingredients back to Europe, but this older version of gazpacho—although perhaps less popular—is just as fresh at this time of year.
INGREDIENTS
For Soup:
- 150 grams (1 cup) raw almonds
- 1 tart green apple
- 2 slices day-old white bread, cubed
- 230-475 ml (1-2 cups) unsweetened almond milk (or water)
- 1 small clove of garlic, minced
- ½-1 tsp sherry vinegar
- 120 ml (½ cup) olive oil
- salt
Topping Ideas:
- grapes
- melon
- shrimp
- anchovies
- extra virgin olive oil
- avocado
- crispy jamón slices
- garlic croutons
METHOD
- If you can, buy the raw almonds already peeled; if not, soak them with the skins on. Place almonds in a container adding enough water to cover and soak overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place the bread cubes in a bowl and pour 230 ml of unsweetened almond milk over it and allow to soak as you prepare the other ingredients. I've taken a couple of liberties here; most traditional recipes use water and not almond milk. But, I find the almond milk gives it a creamier, richer flavor. Also, most call for the removal of the bread crust, which I think is completely unnecessary.
- Peel, core and cut apple into chunks. Place in the bowl of a food processor or deep sided dish if using an immersion blender.
- Drain almonds. If your almonds still have the skins on them, place them in a clean dish cloth and rub the skins off with the cloth. Add almonds to the bowl.
- Add the soaked bread with the almond milk you soaked it in, the garlic and a pinch of salt. Blend until smooth. If the purée is too thick you can add more almond milk or water to your taste.
- Once you have the purée at the consistency you like, gradually add the olive oil as you continue to blend, starting with about half of the oil. The goal is to get the oil to emulsify with the liquid, so you may need to add more or less oil to reach the desired consistency.
- Add the vinegar a half teaspoon at a time, tasting between each addition until you are happy with the results. I tend to go very light on the vinegar—add as much or as little as you like to suit your taste.
- Salt to taste and then chill. I go easy on the salt because I like to add a sprinkling of herbed finishing salt at the table. For the best results, I suggest you make it a day in advance to allow the flavors to blend and the soup to chill thoroughly. This recipe makes approximately one liter of ajo blanco and can be kept in the refrigerator for three to four days.
Toppings
Salty anchovies and tart green grapes pair very nicely with this mild, sweet soup. My absolute favorite toppings are shrimp and grapes with a drizzle of olive oil and herbbed salt. But, crispy jamón and melon or any of the other suggested toppings work very nicely.
Note: If you won't be using all of the soup in three to four days, you should freeze it.