Almonds: Recipes, History, Culture

Scrumptious recipes for appetizers, entrees, and desserts

From the anatomy of a nut to the history of the almond in world culture, the cultivation of almond orchards in California, and nutrition provided by a favorite nut, Bryant and Fentress provide a wealth of information about the versatile, high-protein, dietfriendly almond.

Try Soba Noodles with Spicy Almond Butter Sauce; Almond-Crusted Pork Chops with Sweet-and-Sour Apricot Glaze; Lamb Tagine with Apricots, Almonds and Honey; Almond Florentine Cookies; Chocolate-Amaretto Torte; Moroccan Rice Pudding; and classic Chocolate-Almond Bark.

T he almond, nature’s most versatile and healthful nut, has been celebrated by civilizations since antiquity. Almonds have appeared in both ancient and modern cuisines, art, literature, poetry, and sacred texts for thousands of years, both as food and as symbols of fertility, honor, beauty and love. Today, health and nutrition experts laud the many benefits of almonds, which have been elevated to the status of a “superfood.”

In Almonds: Recipes, History, Culture, authors Barbara Bryant and Betsy Fentress detail the intriguing history of the almond, from its origins in Asia and Mesopotamia to its cultivation in Egypt, Italy, and eventually California, while food writer Lynda Balslev offers over 60 recipes featuring the cuisines of China, India, Lebanon, France, Italy, Mexico, the United States, and more. And celebrated food writers and chefs share ethnic customs and traditions and how they use almonds in their own kitchens.

 

You’ll find almonds here in every form: green, blanched, ground, roasted, slivered, and sliced. This cookbook brings the world to your table with classic almond recipes as well as almondinspired variations on beloved dishes. The recipes range from starters and snacks, such as Burnt Sugar Almonds and Almond Chai with Dates and Honey, to salads and vegetable sides like Asian Citrus and Almond Slaw and Almond and Saffron Rice Pilaf, to heartier entrées including Crispy Oven-Fried Chicken and Pulled Pork with Red Mole. Almonds add depth and body to classic sauces such as pesto, tapenade, and romesco, and the delicate yet aromatic flavor of almonds is put to perhaps its ultimate use in glorious desserts like Chocolate Amaretto Torte and Almond Granita with Raspberries.

 

Filled with over 125 color photographs and art reproductions from the world’s most famous museums, Almonds: Recipes, History, Culture is a beautiful book that combines an illustrated history with a fabulous collection of global recipes .

Barbara Bryant is president of Watermark, Ltd. and the coauthor of The Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook. She currently serves as a trustee of the Trinity Forum and is a board member of the African Health and Hospital Foundation. The mother of three children, her hobbies include gardening, cooking, painting, art, and antiques. She lives in St. Louis and Palm Beach.

Betsy Fentress is a writer and editor. She is the coauthor of The Bryant Family Vineyard Cookbook and a graduate of the Missouri School of Journalism. Betsy lives in St. Louis with her husband, Sam, and family. She is an avid bread baker. Lynda Balslev is an award-winning food writer and recipe developer based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has studied at Le Cordon Bleu Ecole de Cuisine in Paris, and has worked in Europe and the United States as a caterer, cooking instructor, and as food editor of the Danish magazine Sphere. A regular contributor to NPR’s Kitchen Window, she is the author of the blog TasteFood, and her work has appeared in many publications, including Gourmet Live, the New York Times Diners Journal, and the Los Angeles Times.

Robert Holmes is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s finest travel and food photographers. His photographs have appeared in virtually every major travel magazine. His more than thirty books include the Heirloom Tomato Cookbook, Cooking with the Seasons at Rancho La Puerta, A Passion for Pinot, Sharing the Vineyard Table, and The Walnut Cookbook.