Almonds in Iberian cooking: technique and tradition

Iberian Peninsula (Moorish origin)

The almond arrived in Iberia with the Moors and became the defining nut of both Spanish and Portuguese cooking — used as thickener (in picada, romesco, marzipan), as a sauce base (ajoblanco, ajo blanco), as a confection coating (turron, pasteles de almendra), as a structural ingredient in cakes (tarta de Santiago, toucinho do céu), and as a flavouring for spirits (Amaretto, licor de almendra). No Iberian ingredient spans sweet and savoury applications more completely. The technique of frying almonds in oil before grinding — used in both Spanish picada and Moroccan charmoula — intensifies the nut's natural oils and darkens the flavour. Blanching and peeling (used for ajoblanco and marzipan) produces a clean, white, delicate flavour. Raw almonds (in romesco) provide a different, grainier texture.