Almendras Fritas - Fried Almonds with Fennel and Chilli

These are what salted peanuts want to be when they grow up.

This is a classic Spanish tapas.  It's very simple and very rewarding.  Gotta love the Spanish!

To read how to do it click below
Ingredients:
Olive Oil (1-2tablespoons)
Almonds (any amount)
Spices of your choice
Sea Salt


There are many types of almonds on the market, and they vary quite a bit in quality.  For this dish get the best ones you can find.  They need to be whole (not ground!) and preferably raw (unsalted with the skins still on) or blanched.

If you can only get raw almonds you will first need to blanch them.  To do this, drop them into a pan of boiling water for 1 minute.  Then tip them out let them cool for a while. After a few minutes they should be cool enough to handle.  Pinch each one lightly and they will slip out of their skins easily.  You are left with beautiful clean white almonds.  Let them dry thoroughly.  Easy peasy eh?



To cook them, warm up a 1tablespoon of olive oil in a large frying pan and throw the almonds in.  Give them  a good toss to make sure they are all coated.  Then fry on a medium heat for a few minutes until golden brown all over. You will need to keep an eye on them as they can burn quite easily.  I like to add some chopped dried chillis at this stage, any excuse to use chilli is good for me!

Once browned, drain on a piece of kitchen paper and let them cool for at least 5minutes.  They start to really crispen up as they cool  While still warm mix with a blend of your favourite spices.  I sometimes grind up a teaspoon of fennel seeds and a little salt, or some cumin & corriander seeds & salt.  Rosemary & Sea salt is also great. For a sweet option throw a little ground cinammon & brown sugar into the pan just before removing from the heat.

They can be served in a bowl as they are for a snack or tapas.
If there are any left over (which I doubt), they can be store in an airtight jar for a week.

They can be used in salads, or mixed with some wilted greens (chard, brocoli, spinach...) and sprinked with good olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar, and salt/pepper.  This is particularly good!

If frying isn't your thing you can also roast almonds with or without their skins at 180C for 10mins for a similar effect.  The first time I did this I left them in for 15mins & burnt the lot.  Ooops.

Enjoy!