Blanche Manger: This recipe is drawn from Pellegrino Artusi's La Scienza in Cucina e L'Arte di Mangiar Bene, and is a bit unusual in that, in addition to almonds, he includes orange blossom water to give it a delicate orange flavor.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 cup + 2 tablespoons (125 g) almonds, plus three bitter almonds
- 1 ounce (25 g) fish glue, in sheets (you can also use a packet of unflavored gelatin)
- 1/2 cup (110 ml) cream or rich milk
- 1 1/2 cups (335 ml) water
- 2 tablespoons orange water (you can use a teaspoon of orange extract)
Preparation:
Begin by preparing the fish glue, a simple operation: fold it into a glass, cover it with warm water, and let it sit until it softens; when you are ready to use it, discard the water. (If you are using gelatine, follow the instructions on the package, which may have you add it subsequently.)Peel the almonds and grind them in a mortar, moistening them every now and again with a teaspoon of water, and when they are reduced to a very fine paste, mix them with the water and strain them through a strong, finely woven cloth into a bowl, squeezing hard to extract all of the flavor (you can discard the almonds).
Grease a conveniently sized mold with cold unsalted butter, then set the almond milk to heat in a pot with the cream, sugar, glue or gelatin, and the orange water. Stir thoroughly and let the mixture boil for a few minutes. Remove it from the fire, and, once it has cooled, pour it into the mold, which should be immersed in ice water.
Let the pudding sit for a few minutes in the ice water, then transfer it to the refrigerator and chill it thoroughly. To unmold it wipe the mold with a cloth dipped in boiling water.
Artusi observes, "The boiling of the ingredients is necessary to allow the fish glue to become incorporated; without this step, it would simply sink to the bottom of the mold."
