Gazpacho Ajo Blanco (Two Versions of Gazpacho)

The Spanish gazpacho sounded interesting, so I went a web hunting (I have a *thing* about finding stuff on the web. I wish I could make money doing it). Anyway, here's what I found -- it's a typical dish of Malaga, called Ajo Blanco (white garlic). Here are two variants.

Gazpacho Ajo Blanco
Combat the long hot summer with gazpacho, the coolest thing that ever happened to a tomato.

Gazpacho

1-1/3 cups blanched almonds
2 large garlic cloves
1 tsp salt
5 thin slices, or 1 medium-size roll, French or Italian bread,
   (crusts removed, soaked in water, then squeezed thoroughly)
2 to 3 tbsp wine vinegar or lemon juice, or a combination of both
1 egg white (optional)
3 to 3-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup olive oil

Garnishes
A handful of peeled green grapes and a few slivered almonds per serving

To blanch almonds, drop into boiling water and simmer 1 minute. Drain and run under cold water. Squeeze the nutmeats from the peels.

Soak the blanched almonds in 1 cup water for 2 hours, or overnight. Do not drain. Place in a blender with the garlic and salt and blend until very smooth. Add the bread, vinegar or lemon juice, and egg white, and more water if necessary. Whirl again, slowly dribbling in the olive oil. Pour into a soup tureen and stir in the remaining water. Adjust the seasonings to taste and chill at least 2 hours.

Place in bowls and top each serving with the peeled green grapes and almond slivers. Serves 4 to 6.

Version 2

200 grams of almonds
200 grams of day old bread
2 cloves of garlic
1 small glass olive oil
1 spoonful of vinegar
1 liter of cold water
Salt

And for garnish:
1/4 kilo of grape peeled, and without seeds
or
2 slices of melon, cut in small pieces
or
1 apple, peeled and cut in small pieces

Bring a small quantity of water to the boil, throw in the almonds and to boil them 2 or 3 minutes, remove them from the water, peel them and reserve them.

Soak chunks of bread with a little water.

In a mortar add the salt and garlic and mash them well. Add the almonds and continue mixing, until obtaining a homogeneous paste. Then add the bread. When everything well is mixed add the oil, very little by little, in a fine stream, while you continued mixing until the oil is gotten up to the mass. Then add, also little by little, the vinegar until obtaining a thick sauce, very similar to mayonnaise.

To make the paste into a soup, add the water, little by little, so that the paste is clarified.

When the wished texture is obtained, to add salt to and refrigerate for an hour.

Before serving it, add the grapes, or the melon or the apple, or even if you want, some add raisins.

Cate
(5/11/00)