SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Less than $3 per week
View Profile
The Explainer
Talking Points
The Week Recommends
Newsletters
From the Magazine
The Week Junior
Food & Drink
Personal Finance
All Categories
Newsletter sign up
Culture & Life
Food & Drink
the week recommends
Ajo blanco with roasted grapes recipe
Creamy, flavoursome soup is perfectly emblematic of Spanish food heritage
Newsletter sign up
Typically finished with fresh grapes, the roasted fruit gives the traditional dish a new twist
(Image credit: Emma Lee)
The Week UK
5 July 2025
Ajo blanco – made by blending almonds, garlic and bread into a creamy, flavourful soup – is one of Spain’s oldest dishes, said José Pizarro. Long before we fell in love with gazpacho, it was the go-to dish for beating the Andalusian heat. It is usually finished with fresh grapes, but here I’ve added roasted grapes for a contemporary twist: they bring sweetness and warmth to the nutty, chilled soup.
Ingredients (serves 4-6)
250g blanched almonds
1 bunch of white or blush grapes
100ml extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
3 garlic cloves, peeled
750ml cold water
175g stale bread
3 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
handful of chives, snipped
flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Soak the almonds overnight in cold water, then drain.
Preheat the oven to 160C fan (180C/350F/gas 4).
Drizzle the grapes in a little extra-virgin olive oil and roast for 30 minutes until tender and lightly golden.
Put the garlic and water in a blender and blitz together until smooth and creamy looking. Soak the bread in the milk for a few minutes, then add to the blender and blitz again before adding the drained almonds, the vinegar and the 100ml of extra-virgin olive oil.
Season well with flaky sea salt and freshly ground black pepper and blitz all together until smooth.
Chill the soup for at least 30 minutes.
Pour the soup into bowls, top with some of the roasted grapes and chives as well as a good grating of black pepper and a drizzle of extra- virgin olive oil.
Tip: In addition to the roasted grapes, I often finish my ajo blanco with a scattering of toasted flaked almonds, to add a little extra flavour and texture.
Taken from “The Spanish Pantry: 12 ingredients, 100 simple recipes” by José Pizarro.
Sign up for The Week’s Food & Drink newsletter for recipes, reviews and recommendations.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
Sign up for The Week’s Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today’s Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Contact me with news and offers from other Future brandsReceive email from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsorsBy submitting your information you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy and are aged 16 or over.
The Week UK
Social Links Navigation
Jeff in Venice: a “triumph of tackiness”?
In the Spotlight
Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a ‘private amusement park’ for his wedding celebrations
Sudoku medium: July 5, 2025
The Week’s daily medium sudoku puzzle
Codeword: July 5, 2025
The Week’s daily codeword puzzle
You might also like
Jeff in Venice: a ‘triumph of tackiness’?
In the Spotlight
Locals protest as Bezos uses the city as a ‘private amusement park’ for his wedding celebrations
The Anatomy of Painting: Jenny Saville’s ‘stunning’ retrospective
The Week Recommends
Saville’s new collection features ‘masterpieces’ from throughout her career
M3GAN 2.0: riotous action sequel to the comedy-horror hit about a killer doll
The Week Recommends
A ‘ridiculously’ entertaining ‘hyper-camp mash-up’ of Terminator 2 and Mission: Impossible
Shami Chakrabarti picks her favourite books
The Week Recommends
The politician and human rights activist shares the polemics that inspired her
Properties of the week: bright and cheerful houses
The Week Recommends
Featuring homes in Cornwall, London and Norfolk
6 sleek homes for modernists
Featuring a concrete-and-steel home in South Carolina and a renovated 19th-century former carriage house in Pennsylvania
The Genius Myth: a ‘fresh and unpretentious’ book from Helen Lewis
The Week Recommends
This ‘angry, witty book’ by Helen Lewis is a valuable critique of the ‘flattering fiction’ of genius
From Hilde, With Love – the ‘moving’ story of an accidental revolutionary
The Week Recommends
Liv Lisa Fries gives a ‘compelling’ performance as the soft-spoken heroine.
View More â–¸
Contact Future’s experts
Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Advertise With Us
The Week is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.
Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street