Sopa de Almenda, or Spanish Almond Custard

I *love* this stuff. I found the recipe on Penelope Casa's book, La Cocina de Mama, in the dessert section under the title "Pepita's Almond Soup." It isn't soup though - not really. It's a rich almond custard, similar in consistency to rice pudding, except velvety and smooth. It's absolutely delicious and a cinch to make. It can be eaten on it's own with a garnish of toasted almonds, or served over a slice of plain dense cake (I just served it with pieces of Nigella's Breton Gato - very rich and good.) It can even be eaten with slices of fresh fruit (figs and plums would be especially nice.)

One thing - if you aren't mad about cinnamon, use one stick, not two. I like the balance and warmth two sticks give the custard, but James doesn't like cinnamon so much, so I'll probably lower the dosage next time I make it, because I love him so :-)

Ingredients:

- 1/2 lb. blanched, toasted almonds

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 4 cups milk (I used 2 cups whole, and 2 cups 2% and it worked out well)

- Zest of 1/2 a med.-lg. lemon, cut into strips

- 2 cinnamon sticks

Process:

1. In a food processor, pulse the almonds and the sugar together until the mixture is very fine. .

2. In a saucepan, bring the milk, cinnamon and zest to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 10 min.

3. Add the almond / sugar mixture and return to a boil.

4. Reduce the heat and simmer until the mixture is the consistency of thick custard, about 5ish minutes give or take. When it coats the back of a metal spoon pretty thickly, it's done.

5. Take the mixture off heat and let it cool.

6. When the mixture is at room temp., remove the cinnamon sticks and zest. Then pass the mixture through a fine mesh strainer, pressing it with the back of a metal spoon or ladle to extract as much liquid as possible.

7. Serve the custard chilled or at room temp. It's lovely in little white ramekins with a sprinkle of toasted almonds on top. You can also spoon it over the pastry of your choice or put it in goblets with fruit like a Spanish zabaglione. Delicious.