White Gazpacho is a cold refreshing Spanish soup made with almonds, sweet grapes and cool cucumbers to balance it all together.
But have you ever had white gazpacho? Now don't get me wrong, I will take a tomato gazpacho any day and this is another traditional gazpacho that is smooth, creamy and incredibly refreshing. Gazpacho blanco is made with almonds, sweet grapes, cool cucumbers and a bit of spice to balance it all together. The bright simple colors are beautiful and the flavors are perfectly layered.
White Gazpacho AKA Ajo Blanco
"Ajo Blano" is also what this white gazpacho is called meaning "white garlic" and is filled with delicious flavors of almonds, sweet grapes and traditional vinegar and bread. Both the bread and almonds help "thicken" the soup, but because I was craving something smooth, I moved the puree through a fine sieve, which holds all the nut pieces and grape skins. To garnish, I added bright lemon zest, thin slivers of green grape , fresh mint and a pinch of cayenne. The balance of the sweet, bright and spicy is out of this world.
A Few Gazpacho Making Tips
A few tips when making this white gazpacho, or any gazpacho really. Chill, chill chill. The colder the soup, the better and more refreshing it is! if you have the time, pour some of the soup in ice cube trays to freeze and add those to the soup before serving. You can also freeze grapes which are absolutely delicious and if you don't snack on them before they run out, add that to the soup mixture or as garnish to keep it cool.
More chilled inspiration
White Gazpacho with Almonds and Grapes
LittleFerraroKitchen.com
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2-3 ounces bread, such as baguette day old and roughly torn
- 1 cup almonds (blanched prefered but not necessary)
- 2 cups green grapes
- ¼ sweet onion roughly chopped
- 2 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 1 yellow chile seeds removed and chopped
- 3 Persian cucumbers peeled and chopped
- 1 lemon zest and juice
- ½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Olive oil
- 1 cup Water to help thin soup (amount may vary)
Garnish
- Mint leaves
- Pinch of cayenne
- Lemon zest
- Green grapes sliced thin
Instructions
- First, tear up the pieces of bread and soak them in a bowl with water for about 10 minutes.
- In a food processor, blend almonds until they as are as fine as possible. You can also chose to blanch the almonds before hand and remove the skins, but it's not necessary.
- Squeeze out the water from the bread and add that to the almonds in the food processor as well as the grapes, onion, garlic, chile, cucumbers, lemon zest and juice, salt and pepper, vinegar and a good drizzle of olive oil.
- Start with ½ cup of water and blend until everything is incorporated. Add more water as necessary (I used about 1 cup) and adjust seasoning. More salt? More vinegar, etc.
- When done, pour a ladle of soup through a fine mesh sieve over a large bowl and use a spatula or large spoon to push the soup through. Then take the solids and blend in the food processor again and continue to strain through a sieve, extracting as much liquid as possible.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and chill in fridge for at least 2 hours. Garnish with lemon zest, cayenne and grapes and serve.
Cheryl says
I've never had Gazpacho, but your pictures are so pretty it makes me want to give it a try right away! HUGS
Julie @ Texan New Yorker says
Beautiful! I've only had red gazpachos so far, I'm going to have to try yours, it looks wonderful!
Simply Gourmet says
The soup looks amazing. I will have to give this a try.
Laura Dembowski says
I never thought I'd like gazpacho because I'm not a big fan of tomatoes, but this sounds heavenly. I love all the flavors and how simple it is to make!
Tara says
Gorgeous photos, stunning soup!!
Marlene @Nosh My Way says
All the colors of the rainbow in a bowl of gazpacho. Yum. I love your white version. I wonder if a purple cabbage puree would fair well as a gazpacho
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
I LOVE your brilliant tip about freezing some of the soup in ice cube trays! WOOHOO!!
Marion@Life Tastes Good says
Beautiful photos! I love the mix of flavors in this! I've been craving gazpacho recently, so this would be perfect!!
Sarah says
Never heard of white gazpacho but this is awesome!
Lea Ann (Cooking On The Ranch) says
Absolutely beautiful soup. Pinned, tweeted and lusted after. 🙂
Liz says
Someone raved about this white gazpacho...and I remember looking up the recipe! Your gorgeous photos have piqued my interest again!!!
Shannon @VillageGirlBlog says
This combination has to be the most refreshing thing ever! Sounds fabulous!!
Alaiyo Kiasi-Barnes says
This is quite a beautiful dish. Just looking at it makes me feel cooler. This is a wonderful addition to the Summer Chillin' lineup today!
Alaiyo
Hezzi-D says
I would never think to put grapes into a gazpacho but the pairing of flavors sounds delicious!
Manu says
I love Ajo Blanco, such a classic and delicious summer recipe! And I love to eat it with grapes too! YUM!