White Gazpacho Soup (Ajoblanco with Cucumber)
This cold, refreshing summer soup is made with fresh cucumbers, bread, and blanched almonds, accented with a bite of garlic and sherry vinegar, and garnished with a drizzle of bright green olive oil, crunchy toasted almonds, green herbs, and bright grapes for a pop of sweetness. It's a very old dish, but has exciting flavors and is beautifully elegant when plated!
Ingredients
- 2 large seedless English hothouse cucumbers (substitute 3 regular seeded cucumbers, peeled & seeded)
- 6 medium scallions, whites only (save some of the green tops for garnish)
- 3 large cloves garlic
- 4 slices white bread, crust removed, about one cup (stale French bread or sourdough is best)
- ½ cup warm water
- ¼ cup white wine vinegar or sherry vinegar (or to taste)
- ¼ cup blanched almonds, very lightly toasted (see notes if you have regular raw almonds instead of blanched)
- 1 tbsp lemon juice (or to taste)
- 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- ¾ tsp sea salt (or to taste)
- ½ tsp white pepper (or to taste)
Garnish
- ½ cup seedless or de-seeded grapes, halved
- 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 4 tsp slivered or sliced almonds, lightly toasted
- 1 tbsp reserved scallion tops, very thinly sliced on a bias, or fresh snipped chives
Instructions
prep vegetables:
- Wash and peel your cucumbers.
- You can leave the peels on if you are using seedless thin-skinned hothouse-type English cucumbers for a bit of bright green color, but definitely peel any cukes that have been waxed, or have a tough or bitter peel.
- If the cucumbers have large seeds, split them, scoop out the seeds, and discard them.
- Roughly chop the cucumbers into 1/2"-1" pieces so that they blend smoothly.
- Wash the scallions and trim off the root ends and green tops.
- Reserve the tops for another recipe, or slice some of them very thinly on a diagonal bias to use for garnish.
- Roughly chop the white base of the scallions. These will be blended, so the slices don't have to be perfect.
- Peel and roughly chop the garlic cloves.
- Wash the green grapes and set aside for the garnish.
- Split or slice the grapes just before serving on the soup.
soak panade:
- Trim the crusts from your stale white bread, and cut or tear roughly into cubes or small pieces, and place in a bowl or measuring cup.
- Pour 1/2 cup of warm water onto the bread and let soak for a few minutes until the bread is soft.
- You can measure out and add some of the wine or sherry vinegar if you need additional liquid to fully moisten the panade.
blend soup:
- Add the almonds to the blender or food processor and pulse briefly to grind them finely.
- Add the diced cucumber, chopped onion, garlic, lemon juice, salt, and pepper to the blender or food processor.
- Pulse until the mixture is pureed, then add the soaked bread panade and olive oil. Blend again until the mixture is smooth.
- Optional: Pour the soup through a mesh strainer to make a completely velvety smooth puree. Use the back of a ladle to press the soup through.
chill soup:
- Transfer the white gazpacho soup into a jar, serving bowl, or soup tureen and chill in the refrigerator until slightly or fully chilled, at least 30 minutes or up to three days in advance.
garnish and serve:
- Ladle the soup out into bowls or shot glasses, and add your garnishes.
- Garnish with slivers of green scallion or chives, a drizzle of olive oil, regular or baguette croutons, slivered almonds, or sliced green grapes, or some combination of these.
- Serve immediately and enjoy!
Notes
How to blanch whole regular almonds: Using a small strainer or slotted spoon, simmer them the almonds gently in small batches in a pot of gently boiling water, until the skins can be rubbed off with a fingertip. Quickly rub off almond skins with a clean flower-sack towel. Repeat until all almonds are peeled. Dry and toast the almonds very lightly in the oven or a skillet to bring out the nutty flavor. Do not brown or burn the almonds, just toast them long enough to dry to a yellow-ish white hue.
Nutrition
Calories: 352kcalCarbohydrates: 27gProtein: 7gFat: 25gSaturated Fat: 3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 17gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 581mgPotassium: 462mgFiber: 4gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 411IUVitamin C: 12mgCalcium: 115mgIron: 2mg
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