My Ajoblanco Recipe: Spain’s garlic and almond soup
Ajoblanco is one of summer’s real pleasures.
This simple and popular Andalucian soup most likely dates back to the time of the Roman empire. Crushing garlic, stale bread, and almonds in a bowl, Roman legionaries could combine these staple rations with olive oil to make an emulsified paste that was full of calories, simple to make, and tastier than the sum of all its parts. Today, ajoblanco hasn’t changed much! Still a chilled, Andalucian soup based on almonds, garlic, and olive oil, it’s a frequent accompaniment to meats and seafood, and regularly served by itself as a starter or a light snack. Everyone has their grandmother’s secret recipe, but they all tend to be as delicious as they are comforting.
For me, this is Andalucian cooking at its core. It’s cheap, simple, tasty, and completely pragmatic! Not only does it combine everyday ingredients in a clever way to elevate their flavours, it also provides a great solution to the heat and hunger of summer, where high temperatures cut down on your appetite for rich meals.
I’m trying to squeeze every last cold soup out of summer before it ends, so have been churning out this recipe at least once a week for the past few months, making a nice offset my salmorejo recipe! While traditionally, the liquid involved would just be cold water, I find that the addition of unsweetened almond milk helps to concentrate the nutty flavours of the soup, while also giving a bit of a richer body to the dish. But if almond milk is not something you have lying around, feel free to just replace it with an equal amount of cold water!
Ajoblanco: Spanish garlic and almond soup
Serves 4
Prep time: 10mins | Cook time: 5mins
Ingredients
- 100g day-old white bread, crust removed
- 400ml cold water
- 100ml unsweetened almond milk
- 100ml extra virgin olive oil
- 100g blanched almonds, coarsely chopped
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- Salt
- Sliced grapes and chopped blanched almonds, to garnish
Instructions
- Tear the bread into rough chunks and put into a blender, pouring in the cold water and almond milk so that all of the bread is covered. Leave for a few minutes, until the bread is soaked through.
- Add the garlic, chopped almonds, sherry vinegar, and a pinch of salt to the blender. Blend until you have a smooth consistency in the mixture.
- Start to gradually add the olive oil into the mix, blending a little at a time so that the oil emulsifies with the soup mixture. You should notice that the soup becomes more creamy as a result.
- Chill in the fridge for at least one hour before serving. The classic ajoblanco is garnished with sliced grapes and a drizzle of olive oil, and I add chopped almonds for crunch.