Almond Grape Gazpacho
When Anthony Sasso was growing up in Woodstock, N.Y., “soups were something that you ate to warm you up, a recovery food,” he said. If someone in the family had a bad cold, a soup was made with a stock simmered with beef bones or a few chicken legs, and a handful of vegetables. As for cold soups, Mr. Sasso said no thanks. In 2006, he went to Spain for a year to live and cook. In a town called Palafolls in Catalonia, he ate the first cold soup he liked. It was a white gazpacho: almonds, garlic, bread, grapes, olive oil, sherry vinegar and water — blended into a rich, subtle summer soup. “It’s like drinking almonds, olive oil and grapes, instead of eating them,” said Mr. Sasso, 30, who is now the chef de cuisine at Casa Mono near Gramercy Park. In Spain, gazpachos arrive on the table with three to four little bowls filled with the same chopped ingredients blended in the soup. The white gazpacho is topped with sliced red and green grapes, whole fried and salted Marcona almonds, scallions, croutons and a splash of vinegar — a salad atop a soup.
FOR THE GAZPACHO:
3 large garlic cloves
2 cups diced stale bread, crusts removed
2 cups peeled, fried and salted Marcona almonds, or whole blanched almonds
1 cup white seedless grapes, halved
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
Salt
1 1/2 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons sherry vinegar
For garnish and serving:
Extra virgin olive oil, as needed
1/4 cup diced bread
Salt
1/2 cup mixed red and white seedless grapes, cut into small dice
1/4 cup peeled, fried and salted Marcona almonds, or whole blanched almonds
1 scallion, thinly sliced diagonally
Almond oil or extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling
Sherry vinegar, as needed.
For the gazpacho:
1. Place garlic cloves in a small pan of cold water over high heat. When water comes to a boil, strain garlic and chill until needed. Cover stale bread cubes with water and allow to sit until soft, about 10 minutes.
2. Squeeze all the water from bread and put into a blender with almonds, grapes and garlic cloves. Season with a bit of salt and purée until mixture is very smooth, almost like mashed potatoes; if necessary drizzle in a bit of water to help mixture to purée.
3. Place 1 cup ice-cold water in a measuring cup. Place olive oil in another cup. With blender running, slowly drizzle in both liquids, simultaneously, through opening of blender. Gazpacho will turn very smooth and silky. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons vinegar or more, if desired. Adjust salt to taste. To thin soup, if desired, add 1 to 3 tablespoons cold water, one tablespoon at a time.
4. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until very cold, about 2 hours.
For garnish and serving:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Drizzle oil over diced bread and sprinkle with salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until browned, 5 to 8 minutes.
3. Transfer to a small bowl, and add grapes, almonds and scallion.
4. Add a drizzle of oil and a small sprinkling of vinegar and salt.
5. To serve, ladle gazpacho into four chilled soup plates. Add garnish, and drizzle with more oil.
Adapted from Anthony Sasso, Casa Mono