Almond And Grape Soup Recipes

Steps:

• Boil milk and almonds together for 5 minutes.
• Cool and make into a thick paste in a blender.
• Heat butter in a pan.
• Add onion and saute until translucent.
• Add flour and cook on low heat for a few seconds.
• Pour in the stock, stirring continuously, so as to avoid the formation of lumps.
• Bring to a boil.
• Season with salt and pepper powder.
• Add celery and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Remove from heat and strain.
• Combine with the milk-almond paste and mix well.
• Reheat, adjust seasoning and blend in egg yolks and cream.
• Heat lightly and remove from heat.
• Allow to cool and refrigerate to chill.
• Serve sprinkled with chopped parsley and a few grapes in each bowl of soup.
• Enjoy!

Steps:

• Set aside 1 cup of chopped cucumber for a garnish. Soak the bread in water until soft, about 2 minutes. Place soaked bread, the rest of the cucumber, garlic, 3 of the scallions, vinegar, lemon juice, 1/4 cup of the almonds, salt and 3 tablespoons of olive oil in the bowl of a food processor and process until cucumbers are completely blended and liquid and almonds are almost completely invisible, about 1 to 2 minutes. Season with additional salt and vinegar, if desired.
• To serve, ladle 1 cup gazpacho into a bowl. Mound 1/4 cup reserved chopped cucumber, 1 tablespoon scallions, 2 tablespoons grapes and 1 teaspoon almonds in the center of the soup.

Steps:

• For the gazpacho: 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.
• 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.
• 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. Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate until very cold, about 2 hours.
• For garnish and serving: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Drizzle oil over diced bread and sprinkle with salt. Spread on a baking sheet and bake until browned, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, and add grapes, almonds and scallion. Add a drizzle of oil and a small sprinkling of vinegar and salt. To serve, ladle gazpacho into four chilled soup plates. Add garnish, and drizzle with more oil.

Steps:

• Cook the asparagus spears until they are tender, and reserve some of the tips; blend half of the stock and the asparagus together, then combine the puree with the remaining stock, ground almonds and salt and pepper in a large saucepan and bring it to the boil and simmer for 1 minute.
• Serve either warm or chilled, garnished with the reserved asparagus tips.
• This soup can also be frozen.
• Chef's Note: If you have spare spears or left over asparagus, use them to make my Asparagus Sauce, which can be served with pasta, salmon, or chicken. It too is great hot or cold and can be frozen.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, combine the almonds, bread, garlic, milk and vinegar. Working in three batches, transfer about a third of the mixture to a blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, slowly pour in 1/4 cup of olive oil. Strain the soup through a fine mesh sieve into a bowl. Repeat process with the remaining mixture.
• Season the soup to taste with salt and pepper and chill for several hours. Before serving, taste the soup; if it tastes too strongly of either garlic or vinegar, add a bit of water. Serve the soup garnished with grape halves.