For a St. Louis summer day, try a refreshing and very flavorful Spanish garlic soup that is sometimes called white gazpacho. The color and texture of ajo blanco come from almonds and bread, but the flavor is the zing of raw garlic, accented with olive oil and sherry vinegar.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the almonds on a cookie sheet and toast them until they are light brown, about 5 minutes. Cool completely.
In a food processor, finely grind the almonds with the garlic and salt.
Soak the bread in 1 cup of water, then squeeze dry.
Add the bread to the food processor and puré.
With the machine running, add the olive oil, chicken stock and vinegar. If the soup needs to be thinned, add more water.
Serve chilled and garnished with grapes.
2 garlic cloves (or to taste)
½ tsp. salt
12 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed
1 cup water (or more as needed)
1 cup olive oil
1/3 cup chicken stock
4 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
½ cups seedless grapes, sliced lengthwise
This article appears in Jul 1-31, 2008.