Spanish · Andalusia · soup

Ajoblanco de Málaga con Uvas

Ajoblanco de Málaga con Uvas reads fruity 5.1, nutty 4.9 and sweetness 4.6 on Palate's 0–10 flavor X-ray — a Spanish · Andalusia soup, about 3 hr 23 min. Measured from the recipe itself: ingredients and technique.

The flavor X-ray — six axes, 0–10

The measured notes (of 18)

Fruity 5.1 · Nutty 4.9 · Sweetness 4.6 · Richness 4.1 · Allium 4.0 · Salinity 3.6 · Herbaceous 2.3 · Sourness 2.2 · Funk & Ferment 2.0 · Umami 2.0 · Bitterness 1.8 · Floral 1.6 · Earthy 1.5 · Warm Spice 0.9 · Citrus 0.6

What's in it (8)

Time & effort: about 3 hr 23 min (23 min active) · effort: medium

Nutrition (per 100 g, engine-estimated): 129.8 kcal, 4.3 g protein, 8.3 g fat, 10.9 g carbs

Dietary: Vegan — engine-derived; double-check anything allergy-critical.

How it's cooked (6 steps)

  1. Ajoblanco is older than gazpacho — it is the Andalusian cold soup from before tomatoes and peppers crossed the Atlantic, and it is white, almond-based and sharply garlicky. It is not a version of gazpacho and it is not salmorejo. Those three are separate dishes with separate ingredients, and Málaga will tell you so.
  2. Tear the bread into a bowl, pour over 250 ml of the cold water and leave 15 minutes until it is completely soft. Do not squeeze it out; the water is part of the soup.
  3. Put the almonds, garlic and salt into a blender and run it for 3 minutes, scraping down twice, until you have a fine damp paste. Marcona almonds are fatter and sweeter than Californian ones and they are the right almond for this; if you buy them roasted and salted, rinse and dry them and cut the added salt in half.
  4. With the motor running, add the olive oil in a slow thread over about 3 minutes. The mixture will pale and thicken like an aioli — that emulsion is what gives ajoblanco its body, and it is why the oil goes in before the water.
  5. Add the soaked bread and blend smooth, then add the rest of the ice water in three additions, blending 2 minutes in all. Season with the vinegar, tasting as you go: it should be assertive, just short of sour.
  6. Pass the soup through a fine sieve, pressing with a ladle, and chill at least 3 hours. It thickens in the refrigerator, so check the consistency before serving and let it down with more ice water if it has gone past double cream. Serve very cold with the halved grapes floating on top and a thread of oil.

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Every number above is Palate's engine-measured estimate, computed from this recipe's ingredients and techniques — not human-tasted ratings or reviews.