White Gazpacho with Pickled Shrimp

In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups of the sherry vinegar with the sugar, jalapeño, peppercorns, coriander seeds, cumin seeds and 1 cup of water and bring to a rapid boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Add the mint and cilantro sprigs. Remove from the heat and add the shrimp. Cover the shrimp with a lid or a heatproof plate to keep them submerged and let the shrimp stand for 1 hour.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, simmer the garlic in the vegetable oil over moderate heat until very soft but not browned, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the garlic to a blender. Reserve the garlic oil for another use.

In a small bowl, soak the bread in cold water until softened. Squeeze out the excess water and transfer the bread to the blender. Add the yogurt, almonds, grapes, cucumber, 3 tablespoons of the sherry vinegar and 2 tablespoons of water and puree until smooth. With the machine on, add 1/4 cup of the olive oil in a thin stream. Set a fine strainer over a bowl and strain the soup, pressing hard on the solids. Season the soup with the paprika, salt and white pepper and refrigerate until cold.

Drain the shrimp and discard the liquid. Shell and devein the shrimp. In a small bowl, toss the shrimp with the remaining 1 tablespoon each of sherry vinegar and olive oil. Add the chopped mint and cilantro and season with salt and white pepper. Ladle the soup into shallow bowls and mound the shrimp in the center. Drizzle the soup with olive oil and serve.

Marcona almonds are skinned, roasted almonds from Spain. Look for them in specialty food shops.