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Don't mind me while I sit in the darkness of my air conditioned house and avoid the outside world for the next few weeks. Hot doesn't even begin to describe the heatwave washing through the Midwest. Hell would probably be more accurate. I've been waiting until well after the sun goes down to get my mail and take my dog for a walk, and even then I still come back in feeling overheated and sweaty. Needless to say, I'm using my oven as little as possible lately and we're eating as many cold dishes as we can find. When the temperatures get this hot, I like to look for light eats that aren't going to sit heavy in my stomach, but can still pass for a full meal, like this Chilled Almond Soup. This is a recipe that I found on Golden Blossom Honey many months back, but kept skipping over it because it wasn't something that I had ever tried before and wasn't quite sure if I was going to like it or not. I mean, grapes in a soup isn't something that's common here in the US, so that had me raising my eyebrows at first.
The ingredients did intrigue me though, enough that I did a little digging on this soup and found that it's actually quite popular in Spain, where it's called Ajo Blanco. It's a creamy soup packed with so many flavors, perfect for a meal starter or as a full meal in itself. I made it on one of our hottest days so far this season and loved that it was light and refreshing. The soup alone was quite strong in flavor, but it was missing something. So, I made sure to eat a grape with my next spoonful and was shocked to find that it does change the flavor profile quite a bit. I'd honestly never expect the soup ingredients and the grapes to compliment each other as they did, but they blended together beautifully! The croutons gave it added texture and crunch, rounding out the recipe deliciously. This soup is so perfect for a hot summer day, but I will recommend not serving it for date night or eating it on your lunch at work because the garlic is strong in this recipe. And garlic breath really doesn't win many friends LOL. But if you're shut in your home avoiding the heat like I am, it's one of the best chilled soup recipes I've ever made, so I'd recommend adding it to your hot weather meal plan this season.
Ingredients
Soup:
1 (7-8 ounce) loaf day-old crusty French bread, crust removed, bread cut into 3-inch lengths (reserve one 3-inch length for topping – see below)
1 cup blanched slivered almonds
2 cloves garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup chicken stock
1/3 cup dry sherry
2 tablespoons GOLDEN BLOSSOM HONEY
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
Toppings:
1 cup seedless green grapes, halved
reserved bread cut into 1/2-inch croutons
1 tablespoon olive oil
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Are you experiencing hotter than average temperatures in your area?
Why is there garlic in it if it is sweet and has no salt in it? Very unusual recipe.
ReplyDeleteWe are under African heath wave as well, it is above 40C but should go a bit down finally on Sunday, still have to survive Saturday which should be the worst. Hope we at least get some rain to revive the nature.
I am not sure and questioned the ingredients here too at first, but for some reason it all married together quite well. I'd like to try an authentic dish in Spain though and compare the two.
DeleteIt's cooling down here, thankfully. We've had A LOT of rain, the fallout of the hurricane that blew through Texas, so that helped with the scorching temps.
I’m guessing we are having the same exact weather. Yesterday, I was exhausted by 2 pm and couldn’t do much but sit around. MiddleChild and I spent the morning at the mall walking around, so it wasn’t like I was even outdoors. Oh well, still better than snow!
ReplyDeleteI agree, it is better than snow. I am so not looking forward to seeing what this winter brings. We've been lucky the last 2 years with minimal snowfall, so I'm scared we're overdue to get dumped on.
DeleteYep. Frigging wall of heat when you exit here. Garlic breath will keep the interlopers away at least lol never thought of grapes on soup.
ReplyDeleteWill keep the vampires away too. Friendly tip from your Halloween loving bloggy friend.
DeleteNot sure I would like this soup. It's not hotter than usual here but it is hot. 106 here today.
ReplyDeleteI can see where it may not be for everyone, but especially you since you're doing the low carbs these days.
DeleteGracias por la receta. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by!
DeleteOh my God, I love this. I use nuts in many of my recipes including soups, but sometimes just for my husband. He is a hiker, runner and do all sorts of outdoor adventurous stuff. Nuts are really good for providing sustained energy.
ReplyDeleteI have never tried almond soup yet :D
ReplyDeleteOkay, you've got me curious. Grapes!! This is crazy (in a cool way!). And you now have me convinced that Golden Blossom Honey has EVERY kind of recipe imaginable! Stay cool over there (literally and figuratively speaking). :)
ReplyDeleteI've found so many amazing pairings there that I never imagined before. They definitely have it all! Hope you're staying cool down there! It was already starting to get unbearable when we were down there at spring break!
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