Ajo Blanco
Ingredients (4 pax)
• 1 cup Almonds, blanched
• 3 cups Cold water
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/3 lb. Rustic bread, all crust removed, cut into 1-inch cubes
• Salt as needed
• 1 ½ tsp. Sherry vinegar, plus more if desired
• 1 ½ Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain (+ additional as needed)
• Green seedless grapes as needed
• Almonds, sliced, toasted, crushed as needed
• Mint leaves, chiffonade as needed
Preparation
1. In a blender, combine almonds with water and garlic and blend at high speed until milky; you may need to stop and scrape down sides of blender jar once or twice.
2. Add bread and blend until very smooth.
3. Season with salt; blend in vinegar and Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain. If using a less powerful blender, you may want to pass the soup through a fine-mesh strainer at this point; with a high- powered blender this won't be necessary.
4. Transfer soup to a sealed container and refrigerate until it’s chilled, at least 2 hours and up to 2 days.
5. Cut grapes into halves and season with Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain, and a touch of salt. To serve: Place grapes at bottom of bowl. Pour soup into bowl, place almonds on top, garnish with mint, and drizzle with a good amount of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain.
