Gazpacho Ajo Blanco Recipes

Steps:

• Cover bread with cold water, and let soak for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, cover garlic with water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook for 3 minutes; drain.
• Pulse blanched almonds in a food processor until finely ground. Squeeze excess liquid from bread, and transfer bread to food processor. Add cooked garlic, vinegar, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Puree mixture until smooth. With machine running, pour in oil in a slow, steady stream, alternating with cup cold water, blending until emulsified. Blend in remaining 2 1/4 cups cold water. Strain through a fine sieve until smooth, discarding solids. Season with salt. Refrigerate gazpacho until chilled, at least 1 hour (or up to 1 day). Season with salt and pepper.
• Divide chilled gazpacho among 6 bowls or glasses. Drizzle with oil and top with grapes, and Marcona almonds if desired, just before serving.

Steps:

• Combine apple, garlic, bread, grapes, blanched almonds, milk, and 2 cups water in a medium bowl; season with salt. Cover and chill for at least 6 hours and up to 1 day.
• Transfer soup base to a blender and purée, adding water by tablespoonfuls if too thick, until smooth. With motor running, gradually add 3/4 cup oil and 3 tablespoons vinegar and blend until soup is emulsified. Season with salt, pepper, and more vinegar, if desired. Strain soup through a fine-mesh sieve into a large bowl; cover and chill until very cold, about 2 hours. DO AHEAD: Soup can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.
• Preheat oven to 350°F. Spread sliced almonds on a rimmed baking sheet and toast, tossing occasionally, until golden, about 4 minutes. Let cool.
• Divide soup among bowls; top with toasted almonds; drizzle with oil and vinegar.

Steps:

• For the gazpacho: In a blender, combine the cucumbers, verjus blanc or grape juice, fennel, grapes, almonds, apples, honey, vinegar, lime juice and salt to taste. Purée until smooth. With the blender on low, stream in the olive oil to emulsify. Adjust the seasonings. Strain the soup through a fine-mesh strainer into a bowl or large liquid measuring cup. If serving immediately, chill in an ice bath until cold. Otherwise, chill the soup in the refrigerator until ready to serve. Season with additional salt.
• Create small piles of the julienned watermelon and apples in the center of each of four bowls, then scatter the sliced grapes around the piles. Ladle the soup around the piles. Garnish with the fennel fronds. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• Soak bread in 1/2 cup water 1 minute, then squeeze dry, discarding soaking water.
• Mash garlic to a paste with salt using a mortar and pestle (or mince and mash with a large knife). Blend garlic paste and almonds in a food processor until nuts are as smooth as possible. Add bread and 1 tablespoon vinegar and, with motor running, add oil in a slow stream, then add ice water and blend well. Force purée through a fine sieve into a bowl, pressing firmly on solids. Discard solids.
• Transfer soup to a glass container and chill, covered, until cold, about 3 hours. Season with salt and vinegar before serving.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, pour enough cool water over the blanched almonds to cover and let them soak for 15 hours.
• Remove the bread crust, cube it and press it down to make a cup; let it sit overnight. Remove the crust and cube a ¼ cup of bread for the topping; let it sit to dry out overnight.
• The next day, pour heavy cream over the 1 cup of bread cubes, enough to absorb without making them too wet. As we stir the ingredients, the dried bread will absorb enormously; let it rest for 15 minutes.
• Drain the blanched almonds and reserve 2 tablespoons for garnish.
• In the jar of a blender, add soaked bread, blanched almonds, chicken broth, sherry vinegar, chopped garlic, ground sea salt and white pepper.
• Place the lid and remove the cap. On low speed, process the ingredients until blended, about a minute. Taste and adjust if necessary before restarting the blender. In a slow stream, pour in the extra virgin olive oil. When the oil is all incorporated, taste again and adjust if necessary.
• Pour the soup into a large bowl, cover and transfer to the fridge for at least 6 hours.
• About 10 minutes before serving the soup, add a couple tablespoons of oil to a small skillet over medium heat. Add hot paprika and stir to blend with the oil.
• When it gets hot, add the ¼ cup of bread and toss it around until well coated. Toast them until they get a nice golden color, about 3 to 4 minutes.
• Remove from the heat and add a few bread cubes in the center of the bowl filled with soup. Add chopped blanched almonds on top, place some grapes around and finish with olive oil drops.