For those of us, unlike my dear friends, who have Al Campo La Villa supermarket up the road and aisles upon aisles of sweet temptations laid out to make you drool, here are some alternative methods to enable you to enjoy these delightful Spanish Christmas treats.
There is no more typical Christmas sweet in Spain than turrón. The recipe for turrón should never contain less than 10% of honey or 64% of almonds. As Lisa & Tony Sierra explain, "There are two traditional basic types of turrón. Soft Jijona or turrón blando, which is so smooth it has the consistency of peanut butter and hard Alicante or turrón duro, which is like a thick almond nougat candy, similar to peanut brittle." My preference is for the Jijona.
Turrón de Jijona
Ingredients for 4 tablets: - 400 grams of honey (azahar - orange blossom honey is traditional)
- 200 grams of sugar
- 1 egg white
- 700 grams of almonds, peeled and toasted
- the grated rind of half a lemon
Method:
Grind the almonds without letting them become completely pulverized. Pour the honey and the sugar into a saucepan and put it to heat over a low flame, stirring with a wooden spoon until the sugar is dissolved and the mixture thickens. Remove the mixture from the heat.
Beat the egg white and add it to the honey and sugar mixture. Mix well without pausing for 10-15 minutes then place the mixture back on a low heat until the mixture begins to caramelise and take on a deeper colour.
Add the almonds and the grated lemon rind to the mixture. Mix well with a wooden spoon and leave to cool for 5 minutes.
Line molds with grease proof kitchen paper, pour the mixture into the molds so that the turrón is around 2 - 3 cms thick. Leave for 3 - 4 hours to set to the right consistency, then turn out and store in Tupperware boxes in a cool, dry place.
Translated from this recipe. Another version of the recipe, although in Spanish, shows the method step-by-step in photos, which you can see here.
The other option is to order your Christmas delights via La Tienda.
Although, admittedly, once you've added the postage and packing, this is far from an inexpensive alternative, Christmas does only come once a year and we reckon you're allowed to treat yourself at least that often!
La Tienda offer several types of Turrón Candy as well as other seasonal delicacies. The Turron Gift Sampler by '1880' contains 3 varieties of Turrón: de Jijona (almond and orange blossom honey), Alicante (almond brittle) and Yema Tostada (almonds blended with egg yolks and honey).
A Sweet Christmas Tale of Turrón | Turrón - Spanish Almond Candy
