Amlou

Here is a Moroccan recipe from the Agadir region. It is a little marvel of simplicity and taste. It is a smooth paste with almonds crushed with argan oil and slightly sweetened with honey. It is traditionally done with a stone that grinds the almonds very finely. With a blender, you get almost the same texture. It will not be as fine (stone grinding gives an incomparable amlou) but the result is absolutely delicious. A little bit of amlou in the morning on bread and you can keep going until lunch. The argan oil gives a velvety softness in the mouth and the touch of honey is there to sweeten the whole.

For 550g of amlou:

350g of almonds
120g (130ml) argan oil
80g of honey (or more according to your taste)

Put the almonds to roast in the oven at 190°C. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

Grill for 15 to 20 minutes, keeping an eye on them. I like them roasted, but you can roast them to your liking.

Here is the argan oil and honey.

I bought these two products at Apia in Rabat at 44, rue de l’Oukaïmeden. A great organic store with a wide selection of honey and oils. It is necessary to take the argan oil food and not to make a mistake with that reserved for the cosmetic care.

I also took eucalyptus honey, one of the cheaper ones, as it is quite suitable for making amlou.

Once the almonds are roasted, let them cool to room temperature. Then place them in the bowl of your blender. Normally this is done with a stone, but at home it is not always very practical!

Start grinding them and then add the oil.

Continue grinding, adding oil as you go.

Very quickly, the amlou forms and becomes almost liquid.

Then add the honey. You can add more or less. In general, I prefer amlou not too sweet.

A last blow of the blender and it’s ready ! You can pour it into a nice dish to serve or store it in a jam jar. If after several days the oil rises, you will just have to mix to find a homogeneous amlou.