ALMENDRADA, AN ALMOND CREAM AND RASPBERRY PURÉE
Altamiras’s almond cream, or almendrada, had started life centuries before as aristocratic eating under various names like armendolada and ametllat. De Nola considered it food for the sick and convalescents and gave several recipes to which he added flavourings such as rose water and pumpkin seeds.
Using modern kitchen technology the cream, thickened with bread, is very easy and quick to make although you need to be sure you use small, fibrous dryland almonds of whatever variety. Marcona is ideal, but the smaller snap-dry varieties like Largueta work well too. You can add back in De Nola’s aromatic flavours and seeds although I prefer to offer a jug of a very tart fruit sauce, such as a sieved berry purée, to splash over the top.
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❖ Almendrada, Almond Cream
A whizzer makes easy work of this raw almond, breadcrumb and cane sugar cream, thickened as it cooks with eggs and good served with a fresh red-fruit purée, marinated peaches or a coffee and lemon zest syrup.
Juan Altamiras’s almond cream, or almendrada, had started life as aristocratic eating, and as food for the sick, but centuries later it was popular fiesta food too.”