The Spanish have what they call ‘ajo blanco‘, a white gazpacho made from puréed almonds, bread and garlic. In this recipe, we give ajo blanco its own Foodpairing® twist by substituting the garlic for sugar and vanilla beans so that we get a sweet summery soup with raspberries as a refreshing accent.
The raspberries in this dessert give this dessert a tart accent and provide floral, violet-like aromatic links to the almonds in the ajo blanco. By poaching the peaches in a light simple syrup flavored with just a touch of lemon zest, we can balance its sweetness. The peaches and raspberries share similar fruity peach and coconut aromas. And to finish, we add toasted almonds and a touch of basil-infused olive oil, which lends a spicy clove-like accent with a hint of citrus notes.
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Sweet Ajo Blanco with raspberries, peaches and basil-infused olive oil (4 servings)
Sweet Ajo Blanco
preparation
- 55 g almonds
- 55 g water
- 40 g granulated sugar
- ½ Bourbon vanilla bean pod
- 55 g bread crumbs
- 30 g water
Soak the almonds in 55 grams of water for an hour. Then sieve and transfer the soaked almonds to a mixer, reserving the water.
Soak the bread crumbs in the water.
Now, add the sugar and scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean pod into the mixer. Blend the almonds with sugar and the vanilla bean seeds. Then, add the soaked bread crumbs and water to the mixer and blend together with the almond mixture until smooth.
Raspberries & Peaches
preparation
- 2 peaches, poached
- 10 raspberries
Halve the raspberries and cut the poached peaches to similar size. Set aside.
Basil-infused Olive Oil
preparation
- fresh basil
- extra-virgin olive oil
Blend the olive oil together with the basil and sieve. Set aside.
Sweet Ajo Blanco with raspberries, peaches and basil-infused olive oil (assembly)
preparation
- Sweet Ajo Blanco (recipe above)
- poached peaches (recipe above)
- fresh raspberries, halved
- Basil-infused Olive Oil (recipe above)
- almonds, slivered and toasted
- Kasteel Rouge dark beer (optional)
Ladle the Sweet Ajo Blanco into 4 shallow bowls. Place the poached peaches and fresh raspberry halves on the surface of the ajo blanco. Add the drops of Basil-infused Olive Oil and garnish with slivers of toasted almonds.
Optional pairing: Enjoy this Sweet Ajo Blanco with raspberries, peaches and basil-infused olive oil with a chilled glass of Kasteel Rouge. Or use our search filter in the Foodpairing® Tool to discover other well matching drinks.
