Green Almonds in Cucumber Gelée
In this relatively easy recipe from Alinea, green almonds are embedded in cucumber gelée and topped with sweet, spicy, sour, and salty elements. The crisp almonds, soft jelly, and four contrasting ingredients fully engage the senses and palate like nothing else.
Green almonds have an edible crunchy shell with a pronounced sourness, so add a pinch of salt and you can make a light snack out of it. It has a fuzzy exterior that feels and looks like the surface of a tennis ball. Try your luck finding green almonds in Middle Eastern groceries around springtime.
We’ll need the young almonds found within. The nuts, at this point in its prepubescent life, will have a thin outer layer encapsulating a semi-liquid center. It has a grassy taste and refreshing quality to it.
I made the following substitutions for the sweet, spicy, sour, and salty elements (this should give you an idea of how confused eclectic my pantry is):
- Sweet: Thai coconut sugar instead of crushed sugar cubes
- Spicy: Basque espelette pepper instead of cayenne pepper
- Sour: Indian amchur powder (from unripe mangoes) instead of citric acid
- Salty: Filipino rock salt instead of Bali sea salt
recipe adapted from Grant Achatz’s Alinea
Food in Colors: Red and Green hosted by Neha
Green Almonds in Cucumber Gelée
Sweet, Hot, Sour, Salt
makes 8 small bites
Green almond cross section.
Ingredients:
5 gelatin sheets
2 English cucumbers, quartered lengthwise and seeded
8 grams / 0.3 oz granulated sugar
5 grams / 0.2 oz kosher salt
8 green almonds, shelled
Notes:
- I used 2 packets of Knox powdered gelatin (14 grams / 0.5 oz) instead of the gelatin sheets.
- To shell the green almonds, use a paring knife. Cut a shallow slit on the seam that runs down the length of the almonds. The shell can be easily pried open with your fingertips.
Directions:
- Line a 9- x 13-inch pan with plastic wrap. Reduce the area of the pan to 9 x 4 inches by lifting up one end of the plastic wrap. Place some sort of straight-edged object adjacent to the plastic wrap to make a barrier (I used an 8-inch springform cake pan lined with plastic wrap).
- Juice the cucumbers in a juicer and strain using a fine mesh strainer (I used a blender and strained the resulting puree several times). Weigh 70 grams / 1.8 oz of juice and reserve the rest in a small bowl.
- If using the gelatin sheets, immerse in iced water for about 5 minutes or until pliable. Squeeze excess water out of the sheets. Heat the measure of cucumber juice over the lowest heat setting and whisk in the gelatin sheets until fully dissolved.
If using the powdered gelatin, add to the measure of cucumber juice and stir until moistened to bloom. Heat the bloomed gelatin over low heat until liquefied. - Whisk the sugar, salt, and gelatin into the reserved cucumber juice until fully dissolved. Pour into the container lined with plastic wrap.
- Evenly set the shelled green almonds in the gelatin.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or until the gelatin is completely set.
- Cut the cucumber gelée into 1-inch squares, centering the almonds (I used a 1.25-inch round cookie cutter). Chill until ready to serve.
To Assemble and Serve:
Gather the sweet, spicy, sour and salty elements of your choice. See the list above for the original ingredients. Add a pinch of the ingredients to each of the opposing corners and serve immediately.
Curiously addictive.
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April 25th, 2009 at 1:17 am
Yeah, a lot easier than I was expecting from that book
Very elegant!
April 25th, 2009 at 4:28 am
oh really interesting. these look so nice and colourful. I ve never heard of green almonds . you always surprise me with something new
April 25th, 2009 at 4:54 am
wow! green almonds?!that’s new. it looks fantastic anyway your cucumber gelee:)
April 25th, 2009 at 5:52 am
Thanks for that, just begging to be veganised!
April 25th, 2009 at 6:36 am
This is just amazing! I have never seen green almonds & this entire thing is such an unique & elegant bite.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:41 am
They’re very pretty! And, it sounds like an interesting flavor combination. Great nibbles for cocktails.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:47 am
*Love* green almonds. I snack on them like I do popcorn.
These are so pretty , Jude.
April 25th, 2009 at 7:51 am
Curious, definitely. Since I don’t have any of those ingredients (okay, maybe the salt and the gelatin), I probably will never make these. But they do look interesting.
April 25th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Okay, wow, this is very unique and beautiful!
April 25th, 2009 at 8:29 am
Jude, these are simply BEAUTIFUL. Truly, you outdid yourself!
April 25th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Amazing… this came out so beautifully and I love the substitutions you made!
April 25th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Wow, that jelly is very originale! I love the pretty presentation! Awesome!
Cheers,
Rosa
April 25th, 2009 at 9:55 am
Very neatly crafted. I love this, I sure would like to try the almond and your gelee creation.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:18 am
I wish I had some of your confused and eclectic pantry stuffing ;o)
This seems wonderfully unique.
April 25th, 2009 at 11:23 am
I’m a huge almond fan, but I’ve never heard of green almonds. I can’t wait to try them!
April 25th, 2009 at 1:29 pm
Absolutely fascinating. I so wish I had the ambition to try this because I am truly fascinated by all the flavor and texture combinations. Great post!
April 25th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Look at you with your Alinea bad-assery.
I bow to you, kind sir.
April 25th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
Wow. This looks so stunning and unusual… It’s beautiful! What do you eat these with?
April 25th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
WOW. that’s beautiful! they seem soooo itty bitty after all that work though.
April 25th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
Beautiful photo of the almonds! I have to say that I enjoy your “green” photographs the most (maybe b/c I’ve never been able to photograph anything green in any sort of a respectable manner).
April 25th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
Following you on twitter now. Yay!!
Very cool photograph, Jude, and such a unique recipe. Well done.
April 25th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Awesome. The top photo is lovely and it’s deceptively simple. As usual, I will leave it to your much greater skill and just sit back and admire this amazing creation!
April 26th, 2009 at 12:25 am
What timing! I just had green almonds for the first time at a new Yountville restaurant called Bardessono in the resort of the same name. This is a new ingredient to me. The texture was really intriguing — almost soft and watery like the flesh of a grape. The dish was green almond gazpacho with spot prawns. And it was fabulous.
April 26th, 2009 at 8:37 am
So pretty and delicate, Jude! I also love that photo of the green almonds. Gorgeous!
April 26th, 2009 at 9:15 am
Wow, those are so beautiful!
April 26th, 2009 at 11:18 am
i can’t believe how pretty these are. like little works of art. i don’t even know if i could eat them…cause they are so lovely.
April 26th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
I’ve never had green almonds but these looks so fancy and delicious! I love how you can create variations and choose the flavorings based on preference
April 26th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
How pretty looking, like jewels!
April 26th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I bet these are addictive! You are so adventurous.
April 26th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
You are a rock star Jude!
I was just watching At The Table With.. with Grant Ashatz(sp?) today.
What a great project, I have never seen green almonds before, and thanks for the tip about subbing amchur powder for citric acid, I might try that with my dehydrated fruit this year.
(By the way, you asked me how I liked the French bread made in a food processor – well, homemade is always good, and I like the dill but, as you can imagine, it lacks the complexity of a preferment or delayed fermentation. It is a fun one day bread)
April 26th, 2009 at 4:31 pm
This is just so beabutiful! I adore the first picture!
April 26th, 2009 at 4:32 pm
I meant beautiful, lol!
April 26th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
thanks for stopping by my blog!! I’m beyond impressed that you made something from the Alinea book… I’m far too intimidated by Grant’s nutty and cool recipes!
April 26th, 2009 at 5:57 pm
This is amazing! Great job!
April 26th, 2009 at 8:35 pm
My produce market actually sells green almonds, but I never knew what to do with them. Thanks for the idea!
April 27th, 2009 at 10:01 am
Those are delightful! keep doing the alinea posts! love em
April 27th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I don’t think I’ve ever seen green almonds. This looks magical!
April 27th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
I feel as though I must have this. The hunt for green almonds begins now!
April 27th, 2009 at 9:25 pm
Carolyn – Now that you mentioned it, the green almonds are a lot like grapes on the inside. I was thinking aloe vera all along.
Natashya – Amchur is sour, but I don’t know it’s as acidic as citric acid. Hope that works, though!
Elissa – Nothing specific really. Just starter to go with whatever’s for dinner.
April 29th, 2009 at 5:43 am
I cant believe how elegant these simple itty bitty things look! This is so artsy, i am sooo gonna try them!
April 30th, 2009 at 1:34 am
Wow! first time at the site and I am so glad I came! Love the green almonds. I had a tree in my backyard growing up and I always picked them, nut know ign exactly waht to do with them. They are very tender and I nibbled at them, doubting how edible they were.
Brilliant play on colour and elicate flavors.
May 1st, 2009 at 2:53 am
Looking so lovely, n delicate…, like jewels…, Never seen green almonds before, shall look for it..
May 3rd, 2009 at 7:54 pm
Your little almond rounds look like beautifully crafted jewels, Jude. You never cease to amaze me. A lot of Indian dishes are a combination of sweet, spice, tang and salt so I’m sure this was pretty good.
I have an almond tree right outside my balcony which is noe laden with green almonds.
May 4th, 2009 at 4:02 pm
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May 5th, 2009 at 11:18 pm
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May 6th, 2009 at 4:26 am
Loe the dish.Very innovative.Never ever knew about green almonds
May 6th, 2009 at 8:12 pm
Thanks for introducing me to green almonds! Your pictures make me want to grab that fork and dig in!!
May 7th, 2009 at 4:03 am
i know the green almonds but the recipe is……..ART!
May 31st, 2009 at 11:49 pm
These are the prettiest things ever. And, I guess I’m missing out as I’ve never seen (nor tasted, obviously) green almonds!
July 27th, 2009 at 9:06 am
That’s the best presentation ever! And I love your choices for the sweet, spicy, sour, and salty elements…
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