Latte di Mandorla

Sicily's cold almond milk, pressed from ground almonds and served over ice through the southern summer

Origin: Avola and Syracuse, Sicily, Italy

From the journey of Almond.

Latte di mandorla, almond milk, is the drink of the Sicilian summer, served ice-cold from the bars of the south-east where the finest confectionery almonds of Europe are grown. It is the direct descendant of the almond milk of the medieval Arab kitchen, carried onto Sicily during the island's Arab rule and never let go; for centuries it was made in the convents of the island, the nuns of Noto and Syracuse pounding blanched almonds to a paste and pressing it with water into a pale, fragrant liquor. Where northern Europe used almond milk for fasting and cookery, Sicily made it, above all, a thing to drink. The almonds of Avola, the flat Pizzuta and the sweet Fascionello, give the Sicilian version its prized depth of flavour, and the classic drink is sweetened and lifted with a breath of bitter almond and sometimes a little lemon zest. Served straight over ice it is a refreshment of extraordinary delicacy; poured over crushed ice it becomes a granita; set with a little starch it becomes a delicate blancmange. Many Sicilians take it for breakfast with a warm brioche, in place of, or alongside, the coffee. From the Arab pharmacy and the convent still-room to the granita bar, latte di mandorla is the everyday face of Sicily's deep love of the almond, the same nut that gives the island its marzipan, its cassata, and its torrone.

Ingredients

Almond milk

  • 250 g blanched almonds (Avola if possible)
  • 1 litre cold water, plus extra for soaking
  • 100 g caster sugar, to taste
  • 0.25 tsp almond extract, or 2 to 3 bitter almonds, ground (for the traditional note)
  • 1 strip lemon zest (optional)

To serve

  • ice, to serve

Method

  1. Cover the blanched almonds with cold water and soak overnight in the refrigerator. Drain.
  2. Blend the drained almonds with the litre of cold water in batches until as smooth as your blender will take them, 2 to 3 minutes per batch.
  3. Add the sugar, the almond extract or ground bitter almonds, and the optional lemon zest, and blend again to dissolve and combine.
  4. Line a sieve with muslin or a clean cloth set over a jug and pour the almond mixture through, gathering up the cloth and squeezing hard to extract all the milk.
  5. Taste and adjust the sweetness. Chill thoroughly and serve over ice. Stir or shake before pouring, as it settles on standing.

Notes

Latte di mandorla keeps for 3 days in the refrigerator; it naturally separates, so stir before serving. For granita di mandorle, freeze the sweetened milk in a shallow tray and rake with a fork every 30 minutes until icy and flaked. The leftover almond pulp can be dried and used as ground almond in baking.

The Gastrographer

The Gastrographer

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