Ajo Blanco Recipe
By Diana Henry
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Easy
This, a kind of white gazpacho, is an amazing dish. The worst cooks can’t muck it up, you can make it in the last ten minutes before guests arrive, and the unpromising ingredients of yesterday’s bread, almonds, garlic, water, and oil are whipped into something eminently appetizing. Needless to say, neither the almonds nor the garlic should be old; in fact, plenty of purists would pound freshly shelled almonds in a mortar and pestle, or so they tell me. The stale bread should have been good in the first place and the oil should be the best. Serve ajo blanco well chilled in very small portions: it’s pretty rich.
This recipe is extracted from Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons, by Diana Henry
Try Diana's recipe for Chocolate, Hazelnut, and Sherry Cake with Sherry-Raisin Cream or Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes and Saffron-Honey Jam!
Ingredients for Ajo Blanco Serves: 6
- 175g day-old white country bread, crusts removed
- A little full-fat milk
- 200g blanched almonds
- 3 garlic cloves
- 175ml extra virgin olive oil, plus more to serve
- 400ml very cold water 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
- About 32 seedless white grapes, plus more to serve
- Sea salt flakes and freshly ground white pepper
How to make Ajo Blanco
- Soak the bread in a bowl in enough milk to moisten it. Leave for a couple of hours, then squeeze the milk out.
- Put the bread into a food processor with the almonds and the garlic. With the motor running, add the oil gradually, followed by the water. Season with the sherry vinegar, salt and pepper. Stir, then taste to check whether you would like any more water or seasoning.
- Peel the grapes; come on, think of it as therapeutic. Whether you serve the soup in individual bowls or take it to the table in a tureen, scatter the peeled grapes on top and drizzle with more extra virgin olive oil. I love the grapes with it, so I always serve more on the side, though I never get round to peeling those...
About the author
Diana Henry is one of the UK’s best-loved food writers. She has a weekly column in the Sunday Telegraph and writes for BBC Good Food, House & Garden and Waitrose Weekend, as well as being a regular broadcaster on BBC Radio 4. She also has a series of popular podcasts, in which she interviews other prominent names in the food world. Her journalism and books are multi-award-winning. Diana’s last book, How to Eat a Peach, won the André Simon Food Book of the Year for 2018, while A Bird in the Hand won a James Beard Award in 2016. Her other titles have won book of the year at both the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards and at the Guild of Food Writers awards. Diana has written several books, including Crazy Water Pickled Lemons, Cook Simple, Food from Plenty, Salt Sugar Smoke, A Change of Appetite, A Bird in the Hand, Simple and How to Eat a Peach.
