Creamy and refreshing, despite its name, the main ingredient in this cold soup is almonds. The origin of Ajoblanco is very ancient although it is not documented until the Spain of Al-Andalus. Nowadays it is very widespread, but for years it was only very popular in Andalusian and Extremaduran cuisine.
It is a humble soup, easy to prepare and with a very simple list of ingredients. Although, as with almost all recipes, there are endless varieties of this one. We propose the most traditional one, although we recommend preparing Ajoblanco with a blender and not with a mortar as they did decades ago.
It is a very energetic and caloric dish thanks to the starches in the bread and garlic, also due to the fats in the almonds and olive oil. The richness in vitamins and minerals of this dried fruit and garlic serve as regulating foods. As for the protein contribution, in this case, it is of plant origin and is mainly due to almonds and in small quantities to garlic.
To adjust the recipe to our nutritional needs we can vary the proportions of the ingredients, you can add more water and less oil and increase or reduce the amount of garlic.
Difficulty: low
Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 4
Calorie intake: 481 calories per 100 grams
>220 grams of peeled almonds
>100 grams of stale bread without crust
>4 cloves of garlic, chopped into pieces (if garlic doesn’t agree with you, reduce the amount)
>1 liter of cold water
>200 milliliters of extra virgin olive oil
>2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
>A pinch of salt
1. Soak the bread for 10 minutes in cold water. After this time, remove it and drain it a little.
2. Toast the almonds in a pan until they take on some color, then remove them and let them cool. Set aside 20 grams as a garnish.
3. Put the drained bread and the remaining almonds in a blender glass. Add a little water and beat the mixture until it is ground. Then, slowly add the water and then the garlic, oil and vinegar.
4. Beat the mixture until smooth. Taste it and season to taste.
5. Let the mixture cool for at least two hours in the refrigerator. Serve the soup in bowls or deep plates, and accompany it with the almonds that you have reserved and a splash of oil.
Tips
You can add almond milk to highlight the flavor of this dried fruit. Or cow’s milk, although the density will become more pasty.
Ajoblanco can be accompanied by different garnishes such as grapes, apple or melon… Any fruit with a touch of acidity works well. In certain areas of the Granada plain it is also common to accompany the roast potato dish and in Malaga it is usually eaten with muscat grapes.
