Best Ajo Blanco Recipes

GAZPACHO AJO BLANCO

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.

AJO BLANCO

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.

AJO BLANCO

Steps:

• Blend the ingredients together with 350ml water and 1 tsp salt.
• Let the soup cool in the fridge for 1 hr or so, then serve with a drizzle of oil and some black pepper.

AJO BLANCO CON UVAS

Steps:

• Pound almonds, bread crumbs, garlic and salt together in a mortar to form a paste. Gradually mix in oil. Stir in vinegar. Place mixture in a soup tureen. Stir in water, ice and grapes. Let rest in a cool place 30 minutes before serving.

AJO BLANCO: WHITE GARLIC SOUP WITH GRAPES

Steps:

• Put the bread in a bowl and add water to cover. Let soak for 5 minutes until softened.
• Meanwhile, place the almonds and garlic in a blender container (or, if using a hand-held blender, into a mixing bowl) and pulse until almonds are finely ground.
• Squeeze out the water from the bread. Add to the food processor. Blend to a smooth paste.
• With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow stream, then the vinegar and salt.
• Thin the ingredients with 1/2 cup of water to the desired consistency.
• Place the blended contents in a tureen, wooden bowl or pitcher and add about 2 cups of water. Taste for seasoning, add more salt and/or vinegar if necessary. The soup should be fairly tangy.
• Chill until serving time. Stir before serving into bowls. Garnish with grapes.

SPANISH AJO BLANCO (WHITE GARLIC & ALMOND COLD SOUP)

Steps:

• Take the bread crumbs of the french loaf,only the white ones not the crust,and soak them in cold water for half an hour.
• In blender, put bread crumbs (slightly squeezed), garlic, almonds, oil, vinegar and salt. Blend until smooth.
• Pour the mix in a big soup bowl and put it in the fridge for at least 2 hours.
• Once you're going to serve the soup, pour ice cold water in the mix, a little at a time, mixing well until the desired consistency (it should be like gazpacho, creamy not too watery) and add the peeled, whole grapes.
• Notes:.
• Grapes should be sweet, white ones not the red variety.
• Don't use a strong virgin oil but a mild, refined one of about 0'4º acidity.
• Enjoy!

CUCUMBERS WITH AJO BLANCO SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Cut cucumbers about 1" thick on a steep diagonal and place in a medium bowl. Add a large pinch of kosher salt and 2 tsp. vinegar and toss to combine; let marinate 10 minutes. Pour off any liquid that is released.
• Toast 1/4 cup almonds on a rimmed baking sheet, tossing once, until golden, about 5 minutes. Let cool, then coarsely chop. Set aside.
• Blend garlic, oil, remaining 1 tsp. vinegar, remaining ½ cup almonds, and 1/2 cup ice water in a blender until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes; season generously with salt.
• Divide sauce among plates and top with cucumber salad and chopped almonds. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
• Do Ahead
• Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

ZUCCHINI SALAD WITH AJO BLANCO DRESSING & SPICED NUTS

Steps:

• For the dressing, first soak the bread in water for 5 minutes. Drain the bread, then place in a blender with the almonds, garlic, vinegar, and 1/2 cup of the olive oil. Gradually add the cold water and blend on high for 30 seconds, or until a smooth purée forms. Add salt to taste, then set aside in a bowl until serving time.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• On the stove, heat a ridged grill pan or grill to high, until slightly smoky.
• Coat the cut sides of the zucchini pieces with 1/3 cup of the olive oil. Place them on the ridged grill pan and cook them, turning now and then, until they are branded all over. Place on a baking tray and finish in the oven for another 3-5 minutes-you want to cook them through, but leave a bit of texture and crunch to the zucchini. Once cooked, set aside and keep warm.
• Place the nuts and remaining olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm through until fragrant. Transfer the nuts to a bowl, then season with the paprika and salt to taste.
• To assemble the dish, place the warm zucchini in a large mixing bowl, along with the herbs and nuts, and stir gently to combine. Season with salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper if needed.
• Dollop most of the dressing around the bottom of your serving dish, then arrange the zucchini salad on top. If desired, drizzle some more dressing on top for that creamy, nutty flavor and texture.

SOPA AJO BLANCO - WHITE GAZPACHO

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.