Almond Meal-ideas/recipes for use

[Ora]

I recently picked up a bag of almond meal from Trader Joe's. I plan to make an almond bar/cookie recipe. Then I thought about coating fish then baking etc. It made wonder how others use almond. Recipes and ideas are welcome. Thanks.

[wonderwoman]

almond frittata
6 eggs

2 tablespoons sugar, 3 if using buttermilk

Pinch of salt
1/2 cup cream, light coconut milk or buttermilk

1/2 cup almond meal

1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

1 teaspoon each vanilla, almond extract

2 tablespoons butter (non-stick spray is fine)

1. Heat 8-inch ovenproof skillet (I use cast iron) in a 400-degree oven while you gather the ingredients and put the mixture together,

2. In a bowl, combine eggs, cream, coconut milk or buttermilk vanilla and almond extract.

3. In a second bowl, combine almond meal, sliced almonds, sugar and salt. Stir into liquid mixture.

4. Melt butter or spray skillet, pour in egg mixture and return to oven for 20 minutes.

5. Let cool, slice and serve. For company, dust with confectioners sugar.

[arp29]

I just popped a peach and blueberry crisp into the oven that used the TJ's almond meal in the crisp topping. That's probably my absolute favorite way of using it.

[nyxpooka]

I keep meaning to try Frangiapane. The frangiapane tart with berries looks delicious.

[ExercisetoEat]

This is a Flourless Chocolate Cake recipe from the Associated Press that was in my local newspaper about two years back. It calls for almond meal in the cake and to dust the pan. I have made it several times with wonderful results. It is awesome served with fresh raspberries. I'll often use high quality chocolate bars such as Green and Black or Vahlrona and find it makes a huge difference in this recipe.

Chocolate Mousse Cake
(Start to finish 1 hour)

1 T ground almonds, plus additional to dust pan
10 1/2 ounces dark chocolate (70% cocoa)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
Pinch of salt
5 large eggs
Confectioners' sugar (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly spray an 8 or 9 inch springform pan with cooking spray, then dust it with ground almonds, shaking off any excess. Set aside.

In a double boiler set at a low simmer, melt the chocolate, butter and sugar, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, ground almonds, and pinch of salt. Fold the egg mixture into the chocolate and stir until thickened, several minutes. Pour the cake into the pan, smooth the top and bake 45 minutes, or until the top is set and begins to crack.

Remove the side of the pan and let the cake cool completely. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Terrific with fresh raspberries and vanilla ice cream on the side.

Makes 10 servings

[paulj]

Jacques Pepin, in The Short-cut Cook,has a variation on a cherry clafoutis that use almonds instead of flour. He grinds a cup of almonds with a tablespoon of cornstarch in the food processor, but I've used this almond meal instead - this is for a 2 egg batter.

I've also made a very rich chocolate-walnut flourless cake, which should work with this meal instead of freshly ground walnuts.

[goodhealthgourmet]

any gluten-free or low-carb web site or cookbook will have tons of recipes that use almond meal. it's a terrific alternative to traditional flours.

[Ora]

Yes, I know, thanks. I am looking for "proven" and "off the beaten" track ideas.

[goodhealthgourmet]

well in that case, i use it all the time as a replacement for breadcrumbs:

as a crust for chicken or fish
in meatloaf or meatballs
in fish cakes - the delicate, mildly sweet flavor works beautifully with crab
as a coating for baked goat cheese rounds to top a salad
as a thickener instead of bread in soups - perfect for gazpacho

[HillJ]

Almond meal makes a nice crust substitute for graham crackers when making cheesecake.

[Ora]

That sounds interesting, how do you make the crust?

[HillJ]

Ora, I follow a basic graham cracker crust recipe typically used for cheesecake and substitute the equal amount of graham crumbs for almond meal crumbs.

[Ora]

OK that's what I thought--thanks!

[nofunlatte]

I make raspberry linzer cookies that use a mixture of flour and almond meal in the dough. I've made them with all flour and, while good, aren't nearly as wonderful as the ones with the almond meal. These keep well, too!

Linzer torte--you could use your almond meal for that, too!

[abs294]

I bought a bag recently to use in an almond apple cake that is in Nigella Lawson's Domestic Goddess cookbook. I think there are several other recipes using almond meal in her books as well. Let us know how things turn out!

[Ora]

Sure!

[Kagey]

Nigella's almond orange cake is fantastic. You can find it in How to Eat. She slightly modified a Claudia Roden recipe, so I think it's also in Roden's book of Middle Eastern cooking. It uses almonds and eggs instead of flour. I made it a while back for a holiday office meeting that included a gluten-free guy. Half the people at the meeting asked for the recipe, including GF guy.

[mnosyne]

On the web site "Chocolate and Zucchini.com", there is a recipe for lemon sables with sea salt that uses almond meal.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archi...

[Ora]

That recipe is interesting--it is almost like a shortbread. Gives me an idea to make usual shortbread recipe and try substiting almond meal for 1/3-1/2 of the flour required.

[todao]

I sometimes use it in creamy mashed potatoes with a bit of butter.

[paulj]

I use it in a pumpkin bread. I use half white whole wheat flour, and the other half is a mix of this almond meal, oats, oat bran, etc.

There are various Spanish dishes that call for ground almonds, such as the white gazpacho. This meal isn't ideal for that since it is not made from blanched almonds, but still, it works. The color would less of an issue in a tomato/pepper sauce such as Romesco.