Staff Blog
SUPPER: Ajo Blanco
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| Photo l Felicia D’Ambrosio |
| Traditional white gazpacho with green grapes |
Say gazpacho and immediately think tomato. Say white gazpacho, the Andalucian purée of olive oil, almonds and garlic, and think again.
This Spanish soup is a traditional summer starter course, served in restaurants fancy and humble all over Andalucia. Also called ajo blanco, the smooth soup is an easy purée of blanched almonds, raw garlic and green grapes. The chilled, finished product is shockingly refreshing, yielding spoonfuls more flavor than its milky white appearance suggests.
The major flavors here are clean and simple: sweetness from the grapes, earthy nuttiness from the blanched almonds and a bite from the garlic. If you can find locally grown garlic, by all means use it, as it has a less sharp flavor than commercial bulbs from Cali.
I’ve tried several recipes for white gazpacho, with mixed results. Starting with just one clove of garlic is recommended — it can become a powerful element.
Searching “white gazpacho recipe” on Google turns up 54,200 matches. I filtered for you.
The Good: The best recipe (flavor, ease, good instructions) was adapted by Sean of San Francisco’s Hedonia blog. His tips are way useful, and his ajo blanco is supreme.
The Bad: I don’t know why I didn’t look at the URL of this terrible, one-dimensional recipe. It should have tipped me off immediately.
The Complicated: Bobby Flay adds all kinds of luxe ingredients to his version, including verjus and walnut oil.
You like me, you really like me! I’m flattered beyond belief and thrilled you found the recipe so compelling. It was an homage to the white gazpacho we had in Cordoba that haunts me still.
Great work. Thanks for shairing that.