1042 Almonds

No idea what the Italians do, but back in the UK we sometimes roasted almonds in the Aga. Salted they keep for ages, we always used to eat them, never around long enough to store. Might be worth trying if you have loads.
Look forward to reading what you eventually do with them!

Almonds last for a year usually. You just have to dry them in the sun until the green stuff aroun them drops, and then dry them some more... put them in a "sacco" and you'll be fine for a year!

Almonds are excellent to make deserts...
you can make amaretti (my boyfrien'd favourite):

250 gr. di zucchero
100 gr. di mandorle dolci e 50 gr. di mandorle amare
2 chiare d'uovo.

Sbucciare le mandorle, passarle un poco in forno a farle asciugare e poi
tritarle finissime.
Lavorare lo zucchero con le chiare per almeno mezz'ora (ricordarsi che la
ricetta è vecchiotta e allora non usavano le fruste elettriche).
Aggiungere quindi le mandorle formando un impasto abbastanza sodo.
Sew l'impasto dovesse risultare troppo tenero aggiungere poco zucchero, se
troppo asciutto una ulteriore chiara d'uovo montata a neve.
Formare delle palline grosse quanto una noce.
Se si vuol fare agli amaretti un colore tendente al bruno, mescolare
nell'impasto un po' di zucchero bruciato.
Formate le palline schiacciarle lasciando uno spessore di circa un
centimetro.
Metterle sopra carta da forno o in una teglia imburrata e spolverizzata di
farina e zucchero a velo.
Cuocere gli amaretti in forno moderato.

You can also make a [B]normal cake[/B] and add 100gr of grated almonds to the mixture ( something like:
100 gr corn starch
100 gr flour
2 eggs
100 gr butter
100 gr toasted and ground almonds
1/2 bustina lievito bertolini
100 gr sugar

in a food processor ground the almonds with the sugar. add butter and work again. add egg yolk and process. add corn starch and flour with the lievito vanigliato, process. add the eggs whites that you have beated into a very firm consitency and work them into the mixture very carefully with a spoon or spatula. bake in a preheated oven at 180 C.
it is very nice also if you add cocoa)

You can make biscuits, use it for cooking moroccan food, curries... all sorts!!!

Paola

Thanks Paola :)

an italian carrot and almond cake.4 eggs,8oz sugar,8oz finely grated carrots,8oz almonds,grated rind of 1 lemon, 1 heaped tablespoon of sr flour,icing sugar.first soak the almonds for a short time in boiling water,dry and peel the skin .then chop them in a food processor until fine but not ground-leave some texture, beat the egg yolks,sugar and lemon rind together for about 2 minutes with an electric beater-about 5 minutes by hand.mix in the carrots and almonds and flour.fold in the whites gently.line a tin 2in by about 8 in with silicone paper.put in the mixture.you can now sprinkle on a few pine kernels if you like.bake at 180c gas 4 for about 45 minutes.sprinkle with icing sugar to serve.this is nice cold but best served with a hint of warmth and a dollop of thick cream

[QUOTE=alex and lyn]also any recipes for almonds please
Many Thanks
Lyn[/QUOTE]

Hi Lyn,

My friend Paola from northern Italy once showed us how to make
[I]torrone croccante[/I] - a sort of roasted almond brittle candy. It's very simple: here's a little story of how it's done:

[url]http://www.quaypress.com/winefood/devonkitchen/paola.html[/url]

Marc

Is torrone the one made with eggwhite? If so very delicious but very very hard.

What about those candied almonds that are so popular around Italy - might that be a way to preserve them?

Also, you could always make ice-cream out of them...

And almonds cooked in sugar to caramel point is delicious as well (and would probably keep a while too.

[QUOTE=Sano]Is torrone the one made with eggwhite? ....
And almonds cooked in sugar to caramel point is delicious as well (and would probably keep a while too.[/QUOTE]

[I]Torrone croccante[/I] is not the nougat made with egg white if that's what may be thinking about, Sano (as in Torrone Sebaste from the Langhe).

The way we learned to make this from our friend Paola, it's really just almonds cooked in sugar until deeply brown and caramelized. The hot sugar toasts the almonds so the smell is incredible as it cooks. Afterwards, you simply spread the sticky mass onto a board (or marble counter or slab), allow to cool, then break up into pieces with a rolling pin. Though it probably would keep well, it's so delicious that my bet is that it won't last very long at all. Just resist trying to eat it while it's still hot out of the [I]paiolo[/I] as you could burn yourself badly.

Marc

[QUOTE=Marc Millon][I]Torrone croccante[/I] is not the nougat made with egg white if that's what may be thinking about, Sano (as in Torrone Sebaste from the Langhe).

The way we learned to make this from our friend Paola, it's really just almonds cooked in sugar until deeply brown and caramelized. The hot sugar toasts the almonds so the smell is incredible as it cooks. Afterwards, you simply spread the sticky mass onto a board (or marble counter or slab), allow to cool, then break up into pieces with a rolling pin. Though it probably would keep well, it's so delicious that my bet is that it won't last very long at all. Just resist trying to eat it while it's still hot out of the [I]paiolo[/I] as you could burn yourself badly.

Marc[/QUOTE]

Sounds a bit like peanut brittle - absolute heaven when homemade!

The stuff I was thinking of is a Spanish product we used to buy in South Africa. It was essentially a very flat round disk crammed full of almonds and rock hard. You used to shatter the disk to eat it. The white substance (that I assumed was eggwhite and something else) was flavourless - the flavour came purely from the almonds themselves.

From what I have seen of torrone (principally on tv and in Italymag) it is somewhat softer than that.

Well,
just to clarify.

Torrone is indeed made with egg whites, honey, almonds and is white.

The other one is called Croccante, and is made with almonds and sugar. my GranFather used to put some bitter almonds through it as well.

Paola

[QUOTE=latoca]Well,
just to clarify.

Torrone is indeed made with egg whites, honey, almonds and is white.

The other one is called Croccante, and is made with almonds and sugar. my GranFather used to put some bitter almonds through it as well.

Paola[/QUote]

Thanks!

Is torrone hard or does it have more of a nougat consistency (bearing in mind the only nougat I know is the Damascus brand).

it can be duro or morbido. I like the duro one!

Paola

I just had an idea. How about making a big batch of marzipan? The holidays are coming and you could use some food coloring and make up little marzipan candies that look like different fruits to give as holiday gifts for your friends.
A nice gift from your own almonds!
[url]http://thefoody.com/baking/almondpaste.html[/url]
[url]http://www.fabulousfoods.com/school/cstech/marzipanfruit.html[/url]

you are coming up with some great ideas !...keep 'em coming ! :)

Here's a good one I forgot about.

Get a heavy skillet and put in some good olive oil. Add almonds and toast them to a nice brown color. Take them out and put them on a towel to drain a bit of the oil (you want them to retain an oily finish).

Put in a bowl and add a coarse sea salt and fresh rosemary. Mix well and serve!

They are so yummy!

For those who live or are in Puglia at the moment, I suggest to taste some dolci di marzapane (marzipan sweets).
Particulary in the Salento area (Lecce, Galatina, Gallipoli...) they are delicious, even if terribly.... sweet

[QUOTE=notaio]For those who live or are in Puglia at the moment, I suggest to taste some dolci di marzapane (marzipan sweets).
Particulary in the Salento area (Lecce, Galatina, Gallipoli...) they are delicious, even if terribly.... sweet[/QUOTE]

Thank you notaio, for pointing out that this a traditional sweet in Puglia.

Forgot to mention this when posting the recipes. :)

We enjoy your posts, you give excellent insights.

J & D

anyone know how to make sugared almonds please ?......oh crikey...2 almond posts going now .. :rolleyes: .......sorry everyone ..but this is urgent!...also a really basic one.. to blanch almonds ...well how do you do it ???? All new territory for me...always bought them in supermarket before...BUT now I don't have to...if someone helps !! :rolleyes:

Found these recipes for Caramalized Almonds and Chocolate Covered too on the web. Looks a bit tricky but sounds delicious. Great for Xmas gifts if stored in an airtight box and then xmas wrapping.

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup water
3 1/2 cups whole unblanched almonds
21 ounces bittersweet chocolate, tempered
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar or unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder

Place the granulated sugar and water in a large copper pot or 4-quart heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the almonds and stir to coat them evenly in the sugar syrup. Your goal is to cook the almonds until the sugar crystallizes and caramelizes - when water is added, the sugar crystals dissolve.

As the syrup boils, it becomes thicker as the water evaporates and big soaplike bubbles begin to form. Soon, all the moisture evaporates and the mixture becomes sandy. The sandiness is the sugar recrystallizing. It only takes the reformation of one sugar crystal to recrystallize the others. Keep stirring! Next, you will see the sugar close to the heat change from sandy to a clear liquid. The melted sugar clings to the almonds.

When the sugar changes from clear to golden brown, the nuts are caramelized. Once this happens, pay close attention; the time it takes to pass from caramelized to burned is only a matter of seconds, especially when making smaller batches. You know the nuts are finished when most of the sandy sugar is gone. The first few times you make these, I suggest you try the following: When the sugar closest to the heat changes from sandy to liquid, remove the pan from the burner and continue to stir. The residual heat in the sugar and nuts will continue to cook the mixture while you stir it. Lower the heat to medium-low and continue to stir the nuts while moving the saucepan on and off the heat at 10-second intervals. This will give you more control as it cooks.

When the nuts begin to caramelize, remove them from the heat and finish stirring. Use a wooden spoon to spread the caramelized nuts onto a parchment paper-covered baking sheet. Do not touch the nuts as they are extremely hot. Let the nuts cool completely. If your freezer will accommodate the baking sheet, you can place the nuts in the freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process. When the nuts are completely cooled, break apart any clusters that may have formed. At this stage, you can choose to serve the nuts as they are.

If you choose to coat the nuts in chocolate, place the cooled nuts in a large mixing bowl. Slowly add one-third of the tempered chocolate and immediately fold the nuts until they are thoroughly coated and the chocolate has set. If you do not fold immediately, the chocolate will set and the nuts will stick together. Add another third of the chocolate and fold thoroughly until set. Add the remaining third and fold thoroughly, being sure all the nuts are well-coated. Separate any clusters of nuts that have formed.

If you plan to serve the nuts as they are, let the chocolate set completely. If you decide to move onto the next step, do not wait for the chocolate to set completely. Add the powdered sugar or cocoa powder and stir until all of the nuts are well coated. If you'd like to coat half of the nuts in powdered sugar and the other half in cocoa powder, you can use the same bowl if you start with the powdered sugar. Before serving, place the nuts in a sieve to remove any excess sugar or cocoa powder.

Tempering chocolate: Tempering is important because it determines the final gloss, hardness, and contraction of chocolate. When you melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate. In order to put them back together, you must temper it. There are a variety of ways to do it, but the result is always the same. Chocolate is tempered when its temperature is between 84°F and 88°F.

One of the easiest ways to temper it is to place it in the microwave for thirty seconds at a time on high power until the chocolate is melted. Be very careful not to overheat it: The chocolate may not look as if it has completely melted, because it retains its shape. The chocolate should be only slightly warmer than the bottom lip.

You may still see lumps in it once you've stirred it, but don't worry; the residual heat of the chocolate will melt them. You can also use an immersion blender to break up the lumps and start the recrystallization process. Usually the chocolate begins to set (recrystallize) along the side of the bowl. As it begins to crystallize, mix the crystals into the melted chocolate and they will begin the recrystallization process. I like to use a glass bowl because it retains the heat and keeps the chocolate tempered for a long time.

Another way to temper chocolate is a technique called seeding. In this method, tempering is achieved by adding small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate, but it is usually one fourth of the total amount. I usually use an immersion blender to mix the two together.

Checking tempering: A simple method of checking tempering is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been correctly tempered, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within five minutes

This looks like a great recipe Susan, thanks so much for posing it!

You're very welcome. Just one I happened across on the internet. Can't wait to be in the position to try it myself.

If I was overrun with almonds, this is what I might do. I would take most of the almonds and toast them in huge batches and let them cool. Then I'd grind them up finely and make almond flour. This holds up well in the freezer, and many recipes call for almond flour. You might give out gifts of almond flour and print out some good recipes to go with it. All you'll need is plasic bags and twisty wires to close up the flour.

Almond flour is simply toasted or blanched almonds that have been very finely chopped in a food processor or blender.

Here's a good recipe to add with the flour:

Almond Shortbread Cookies

1/2 cup (1 stick) (113 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated white sugar

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

2/3 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

1/3 cup (30 grams) almond flour (meal)

2 tablespoons (15 grams) rice flour or cornstarch (corn flour)

1/8 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) with the rack in the middle of the oven. Have ready a 6 inch (15 cm) tart pan with removable bottom.

In the bowl of your electric mixer cream the butter and sugar until smooth (about 2 minutes). Beat in the vanilla extract. In a separate bowl whisk together the flours (all purpose, almond, and rice) and salt. Add this mixture to the butter and sugar mixture and beat just until incorporated.

Press the shortbread dough evenly into the tart pan. Prick the surface of the shortbread with a fork to prevent the shortbread from puffing up. Using a sharp knife, score (make shallow lines) the top of the shortbread into 8 even pieces. Gently press the flaked almonds in a decorative pattern on the top of the shortbread.

Place in preheated oven and bake until it is nicely browned (biscuit color), about one hour 15 minutes. Transfer shortbread to rack and cool for five minutes before removing from tart pan. Place the shortbread round on a cutting board and cut into 8 wedges (along the lines scored). Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 8 shortbread wedges.

I found another recipe that would be great to use with the Ground Almonds,
(Almond Flour): This recipe is more traditional as it uses olive oil as instead of butter.

Christmas Sfogliata, or Sfogliata di Natale:

This is a dish from the town of Cerignola that the authors of Altamura Antichi Sapori liked enough to include in their book dedicated to the cooking of Altamura, a town in northwestern Puglia.

INGREDIENTS:

* For the dough:
* 5 cups (500 g) flour)
* 3/8 cup olive oil
* White wine
* For the filling
* 1 pound 2 ounces (500 g) toasted almonds
* 2 cups (500 g) sugar
* 12 ounces (300 g) raisins
* 12 ounces (300 g) grape marmalade
* A handful pine nuts
* A handful diced candied fruit
* 3/8 cup vincotto (cooked down grape must; replace with honey if need be)
* 3/8 cup extravirgin olive oil
* The grated zest of a lemon

PREPARATION:
Toast the almonds and grind them

Put all but a quarter cup of the sugar in a bowl, and add to it the grated lemon zest and the pine nuts. Divide the mixture into six equal parts.

Rinse the raisins and soak them in warm water to rehydrate them.

Combine the flour, olive oil and sufficient white wine to obtain a smooth elastic dough.

Divide it into seven pieces and cover them with a cloth.

Take one of the pieces and roll it out into a very thin sheet. Put it into a greased, floured pan that's of a size such that the sheet extends up past the edges. Spread the sheet with one of the parts of the pine nut mixture, and some of the candied fruit and raisins. Sprinkle with a little oil, and some of the vincotto, then roll out the next sheet, lay it over the stuffing, and repeat the process. Cover everything with the last sheet, crimp the edges of the sheets together, sprinkle the remaining quarter cup of sugar over the sfogliata, and bake it in a preheated 360 F (180 C) oven for 45 minutes.

I still can't find a 'proper ' recipe for traditional sugared almonds , but thinking about it I expect they are quite difficult to make.
Anyway, Ive tried this blanching method and it works a treat...visions of sitting on verandah peeling loads !!!..and have yet to try the 'sugared almonds' greek style...will let you know !

Blanching :

1. Place shelled almonds in a saucepan.
2. Cover with cold water.
3. Turn burner to high.
4. Once water boils, remove from heat.
5. Drain and cover almonds with cold water to cool.
6. Press each almond between thumb and forefinger to slip off skin.
7. Dry almonds on paper towels.

Tips:
1. Be sure not to continuously boil almonds.
2. Almonds are slippery

Sugared Almonds (Amigdalota)

INGREDIENTS
• 1 kg almond kernels
• 1 kg sugar
• 1 coffee cup of rose water
• 1/4 kg of caster sugar

METHOD
Boil the almonds in order to remove their skin easily. Let them dry. Use a mortar or any other instrument to crush them. Put the sugar and 3 glasses of water into a saucepan. Boil the sugar in order to make a syrup. Do not let the syrup become too thick. Add gradually the crushed almond kernels and stir continuously. Before the mixture becomes too thick add the rose water and stir again for a few more minutes. Let the mixture cool and mould it into small shapes of any kind. Coat with caster sugar.

Two more things you can do with almonds (assuming you still have a surplus):

[b]Almond Stuffed Peppers[/b]

4 medium red peppers
100g/4 oz. ground almonds
75g/3 oz. grated cheese
50g/2 oz. breadcrumbs
2 large tomatoes, finely chopped
100g/4 oz. mushrooms, finely chopped
6 tbsp vegetable stock
1 clove garlic, crushed (optional)
salt and pepper

Heat oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
Cut peppers in half vertically, remove seeds and wash. Place in saucepan with plenty of cold water and bring to boil. Take off heat straight away, drain then place in lightly greased, shallow, oven-proof dish. Mix together nuts, cheese, breadcrumbs, tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, stock and salt/pepper to taste. Divide evenly between the pepper halves and bake uncovered for approximately 40 minutes.

Serves 4

[b]Creamy Cauliflower Soup[/b]

2 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3/4 pint vegetable stock
1/2 medium cauliflower
3 bay leaves
salt and pepper
ground almonds
milk

Saute onion and pinch of salt for 10 minutes until soft. Add stock, cauliflower (cut into small florets) and bay leaves. Bring to boil, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Remove bay leaves, blend, add some ground almonds and milk to desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 2-3

Both recipes taken from the Vegetarian Cookbook Vol. 2 published by the Chrysalis Retreat Centre in Co. Wicklow, Ireland.

Thanks for the new recipes Sano!

I'm interested in finding some Italian soup recipes and the Creamy Cauliflower Soup one sounds yummy. :)

**Bump**

Need to copy these out again. Does anyone have any more recipes to add?

Maybe this one would be good too Sano.

King's Cake Recipe - Torta del Re Recipe

5 large eggs, separated
1 1/4 cups sugar
10 ounces (2 1/2 cups or 295.73 milliliters) blanched almonds, ground very fine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
Grated rind of one lemon
Sliced, toasted almonds for garnish

Instructions for the King's Cake recipe - Torta del Re recipe:

1. Line bottom of a 10-inch (25.4 centimeter) cake pan with parchment paper and grease the sides with butter, or grease a 10-inch (25.4 centimeter) springform pan.
2. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (160 degrees Celsius or Centigrade).
3. Whisk together yolks, sugar, extracts and lemon rind in a large bowl. The mixture is very thick and hard to mix. Whisk until pale.
4. Stir in the ground almonds.
5. Beat egg whites with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form; either a mixer or a whisk may be used. (Don't make too stiff.)
6. Stir in about one-third of the egg whites to lighten, then fold in the rest of the egg whites.
7. Pour into the pan and bake for about 45 minutes or until firm. The top will be light brown.
8. Let cool completely.
9. Cut around the edges with a sharp knife.
10. Carefully invert and remove the parchment.
11. Reinvert onto a serving plate and sprinkle with toasted almonds. (Almonds were sprinkled on before baking, and this turned out to be fine.)

Serves 12-14.