Soup was born in the hot climate of the Spanish province of Andalusia, whose name has become synonymous with getting rid of heat and thirst. This soup is called gazpacho. Today, many chefs call this word not only soup, which, according to a recent tradition, is made from tomatoes, but also any other cold soup, which is prepared from non-cooking or raw foods.
If you take a real old gazpacho recipe, then it has a very distant relation to the dish that is being prepared under the gazpacho brand today. The fact is that tomatoes appeared in Spain, and then spread throughout Europe only after the voyage of Christopher Columbus. And the soup itself was known much earlier and the gazpacho recipe included stale bread, garlic, olive oil, vinegar and salt. A mixture of vinegar, salt and garlic did not allow the body to quickly spend the water stored in it, and olive oil and bread gave the body calories.
One of the varieties of this soup is Achoblanco, the so-called white gazpacho. By the way, it was also invented in Andalusia. To its main components was added pounded almonds, which were diluted with water. Modern versions of Achoblanco are very diverse, and you can find cucumbers, apple slices, grapes and even fried anchovies in their composition.
Here is one such gazpacho recipe.
Take 250 grams of stale white bread without crusts, 100 grams of fresh (not fried) almonds, 2 ordinary cloves of garlic, a glass of olive oil and wine vinegar.
Bread is soaked in water. Almonds must be scalded with boiling water and peeled. Then garlic, almonds and a little salt are added to the food processor. Grind the mass as finely as possible, almost to the state of mashed potatoes. After that, the squeezed soaked bread is added and the mass is mixed again in the combine to a puree state. Without stopping mixing, pour a thin stream of olive oil into the mass, then vinegar is added to taste. It is very important not to dilute the vinegar. In the last turn, cold water is added (one and a half liters). Water pours in as slowly as the oil, otherwise, you get a consistency like cottage cheese, and there should be a creamy consistency.
Serve "Achoblanco" should be very cold. As a garnish, plates of apples, grapes, slices of melon, fried almonds and shrimp can be added. This cooked serving is designed for 6-8 people.
Now we’ll show you how to make gazpacho with cucumbers and grapes.
Take 230 grams of seedless green grapes, 2 slices of white bread for toast, a third of a glass of cold water, a third of a glass of almonds, one cucumber, two onions with green arrows, one clove of garlic, three tablespoons of fresh dill, two tablespoons soft cream cheese, a quarter cup of milk and two tablespoons of olive oil and vinegar.
Bread should be crushed in a blender, put in a bowl, pour cold water and leave to swell. Put the grapes in the freezer. Meanwhile, almonds should be fried until golden brown. Cut cucumbers into slices, chop green onions, chop garlic and dill.
Mix almonds with garlic in a blender, turning everything into crumbs. Add cream cheese and bread. Stir it all until mashed. Then add cucumbers, onions and frozen grapes. Mix all this at low speed and at the same time pour in a thin stream of olive oil. Then salt everything to taste and season with pepper. This is also a traditional gazpacho recipe.
With the advent of tomatoes in Spain, this national Spanish dish has received a new life. In real tomato gazpacho, tomato paste is never put, but only ripe, fresh and juicy red tomatoes. Everything that is allowed in such a gazpacho except fresh tomatoes is only real olive oil, preferably produced directly in Spain.