Spanish Garlic Soup (Sopa de Ajo)

A bowl of cold, creamy, almond soup with toasted almond and green grape garnish.

Print Recipe

5 from 1 vote

This chilled soup is nutty and flavourful and totally refreshing on warm, sunny days.

Prep Time10

Chill Time2

Total Time2 10

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Spanish

Servings: servings

Calories: 370kcal

Author: Carolyn Hetke

Ingredients

1 cup blanched almonds Slivered almonds for baking work
1-2 cloves garlic See Note 2.
3 cups cold water I used the poaching liquid from Almond Poached Chicken Salad.)
1 cup cubed fresh bread like baguette crust removed
1 tablespoon Olive Oil
1 tablespoon sherry vinegar
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup green seedless grapes
olive oil for drizzling

Instructions

Blend almonds, garlic and water in a high speed blender like a Vitamix. Start on low and increase the speed until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Test to make sure the mixture is not grainy. See Note 3.
Add the bread cubes and blend til smooth again.
Blend in the olive oil and salt. Taste and adjust salt to taste.
Refrigerate, covered for a couple of hours to chill and allow flavours to meld.
Serve chilled with halved green grapes and drizzle of olive oil for garnish. Pass more crusty bread if desired.
Soup will keep a 2-3 days in the fridge in an airtight container.

Notes

Note 1: You can buy blanched whole almonds in bulk or natural food stores. Slivered almonds with no skins from the baking aisle work just as well.

Note 2: 1 clove of garlic is rather subtle in the recipe. If you like your Caesar salad tangy with garlic consider using 2 cloves here. Also note that fresh, Juicy garlic is far more pungent than older cloves.

Note 3: A high powered blender will make this soup silky with no graininess. If your blender is not as strong- blend it until is as mixed as you can get and strain it through a cheesecloth to remove grit.

Note 4: This will make 4 substantial main meal soup dishes or 8-12 smaller appetizer servings.

Nutrition is based on water as soup base.

Nutrition