A Little Almond Sauce Inspired By Spanish Tapas

In Spain, ground almonds are used to thicken and flavor sauces: this per Penelope Casas in her book Tapas:  The Little Dishes of Spain. Years ago I took a class on tapas in which several of her expert recipes were used for reference.  A favorite dish from the class was Tiny Meatballs in a Saffron Almond Sauce.  The sauce technique was pure genius and fun to make. Saffron is a rare ingredient, not on the SimplyCooking® Pantry and not needed for a delicious sauce. Here is the recipe modified without saffron.  With a fork, mash a clove of garlic, a little minced parsley, almond flour and a little salt. Stir this paste into some simmering broth. This is the basic idea. Serve over pasta or steamed vegetables, or Soba noodles cooked directly in the sauce. You can also always serve it authentically tapas style over tiny SimplyCooking® meatless meatballs.

almond sauce

1 Tbsp grapeseed oil

2 Tbsp minced onion or shallot

1 tsp arrowroot starch, or all purpose flour

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

1 cup vegetable or chicken broth

1 clove garlic, peeled

1 Tbsp minced parsley

35 grams (1/3 cup) blanched almond flour

pinch of salt, Celtic Sea Salt preferred

Warm the oil in a saucepan.  Add the onion and sauté 3 minutes, until soft.  Add the arrowroot starch and tumeric and stir one minute.  Stir in the broth, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer 15 minutes.

Using a fork on a cutting board, mash the garlic clover, then mince some parsley. Place the cutting board on a digital scale and weigh ground meal. Add a pinch of salt and bring it all together on the cutting board to a fine crumb.  Stir this into the simmered broth.  

Serve over vegetables, pasta or meat. Soba noodles can be cooked in the broth before the parsley/almond paste is added.