Chef Isabel
Aguaillo de la Sierra de Cadiz
Aguaillo is from the Sierra de Cadiz: cold water, stale bread, garlic, oil and vinegar, closer to a field drink than a bowl of soup, and sharp enough to wake you in the heat.
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Ajoblanco Extremeño
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Ajoblanco Extremeño is the poor-kitchen cold soup of Extremadura: bread, garlic, oil, egg yolk, vinegar, and icy water, with no almonds. Whisk it slowly and serve it bien fresquito.
Soups & Stews
Spanish
Make Ahead
Budget Friendly
Quick Meal
20 min
Active Time
0 min cook•1 hr 20 min total
Yield4 servings
Ajoblanco Extremeño belongs to Extremadura, and it is not the almond ajoblanco of Málaga. This one is poorer and sharper: day-old bread, garlic, olive oil, egg yolk, vinegar, salt, and icy water. No almonds. Add them and you have made another good soup, but not this one.
The method that decides it is the emulsion. Mash the garlic and salt first, work in the soaked bread and egg yolk, then add the olive oil slowly, as if you were beginning an allioli, the garlic-oil sauce. If you pour the oil in all at once, it floats and tastes raw. Go slowly and the soup turns pale, smooth, and held together.
If you're far from Extremadura, use a plain country loaf with a tight crumb, not sliced sandwich bread if you can help it. Sherry vinegar is good here; a mild white wine vinegar works if that's what the cupboard gives you, though the edge will be plainer. Chill it hard, taste it cold, and serve it bien fresquito, very cold. Siempre sale, si lo sigues.
Ajoblanco Extremeño comes from the hot inland kitchens of Extremadura, where stale bread, garlic, oil, vinegar, and water made a cold meal without lighting a fire. Unlike the Andalusian almond version around Málaga and Granada, the Extremaduran bowl is built on bread and egg yolk, a humbler emulsion from a larder that had to stretch. It belongs to the family of white gazpachos and bread soups that fed field workers through summer heat with little more than yesterday's loaf and good oil.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
day-old country bread
Quantity
120g
crust removed and torn
garlic
Quantity
2 small cloves
peeled
large egg yolk
Quantity
1
very fresh
extra virgin olive oil
Quantity
80ml
vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar)
Quantity
2 tablespoons, plus more to taste
very cold water
Quantity
600ml, plus more to loosen
fine sea salt
Quantity
8g, plus more to taste
cucumber
Quantity
150g
peeled and diced
crisp apple (optional)
Quantity
1 small
diced
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| day-old country breadcrust removed and torn | 120g |
| garlicpeeled | 2 small cloves |
| large egg yolkvery fresh | 1 |
| extra virgin olive oil | 80ml |
| vinagre de Jerez (sherry vinegar) | 2 tablespoons, plus more to taste |
| very cold water | 600ml, plus more to loosen |
| fine sea salt | 8g, plus more to taste |
| cucumberpeeled and diced | 150g |
| crisp apple (optional)diced | 1 small |
Equipment Needed
- •Mortar and pestle, or a sturdy bowl and whisk
- •Measuring jug
- •Fine sieve, optional
Instructions
- 1
Soak the bread
Put the torn bread in a bowl and cover it with 200ml of the very cold water. Let it sit for 10 minutes, then squeeze it lightly so it is wet through but not dripping. This is what gives the soup body; dry bread leaves little lumps that never quite disappear.
Use bread with a real crumb. A soft sandwich loaf turns pasty and sweet, and the soup loses its clean, sharp edge. - 2
Mash garlic and salt
In a mortar, pound the garlic with the salt until it becomes a smooth paste. Take your time here. A hidden piece of raw garlic bites harder in a cold soup than it does in a hot stew.
- 3
Build the paste
Add the soaked bread to the mortar and work it into the garlic until thick and even. Beat in the egg yolk until the paste turns creamy and pale. Pésalo, no lo adivines: the bread and oil are what hold the texture steady.
- 4
Emulsify the oil
Add the olive oil a little at a time, beating steadily with the pestle or a whisk after each spoonful. This slow addition is the point of the recipe: the yolk, bread, and garlic catch the oil and make a smooth white soup instead of oily water.
- 5
Thin and season
Whisk in the vinegar, then gradually add the remaining 400ml very cold water until the soup is pourable but still has body, like thin cream. Taste for salt and vinegar. It should be cold, garlicky, and bright, not sour enough to make you blink.
- 6
Chill and serve
Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Stir well before serving, because a bread soup settles as it rests. Serve in cold bowls with diced cucumber, and apple if you like the old sweet-crisp contrast. Add a thin thread of olive oil only at the table.
Chef Tips
- •No almonds here. Almonds belong to the Andalusian ajoblanco of Málaga and Granada, a fine soup and a different one. Ajoblanco Extremeño is bread, garlic, oil, egg yolk, vinegar, and water.
- •Use the freshest egg you can find, because the yolk is not cooked. If raw egg is not suitable for your table, use a pasteurized yolk; the flavor is a little flatter, but the emulsion still behaves.
- •Season it after chilling. Cold dulls salt and vinegar, so a bowl that tastes lively at room temperature can taste sleepy from the fridge. Stir, taste, then correct it.
Advance Preparation
- •Make it 1 to 6 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Stir well before serving.
- •If it thickens as it chills, loosen it with a splash of very cold water, then taste again for salt and vinegar.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 290g)
Calories
250 calories
Total Fat
17 g
Saturated Fat
3 g
Trans Fat
0 g
Unsaturated Fat
14 g
Cholesterol
45 mg
Sodium
830 mg
Total Carbohydrates
24 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
6 g
Protein
4 g
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