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'Menjar blanc', a delicious traditional almond-based dessert typical of Catalonia

Recipes

It is made with almond milk and cinnamon, among other ingredients

'Menjar blanc' (white food) is a traditional Catalan dessert made from almonds, sugar, and starch

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Fundació Alícia 

In the medieval Catalan cookbooks, various versions of recipes are presented consisting of almond milk cooked with different cereal flours (barley, oats, rice, wheat starch) and usually sweetened with sugar. It is when white meat from chicken is added—either in broth or diced—that the dish is referred to as menjar blanc.

This is the menjar blanc originally, but its evolution, without chicken, is the version we know today. La Cuynera Catalana, a work from 1835, includes a recipe that calls it menjar blanc or mató de monja, placing both elaborations as the same final product: a sweetened almond milk, flavored and thickened with starch or rice flour.

Today, the name mató de monja has been lost and only the name menjar blanc is preserved, in reference to the elaboration in question, in some regions of Tarragonès; the menjar blanc of Reus is the most popular one.

The menjar blanc provides us with heart-healthy fats and simple sugars. It is a dessert and, as always, it should be based on a complete and balanced dish, meeting the structure of a healthy plate.

Due to the presence of simple sugar, even if added sugar has been reduced, this preparation should be consumed occasionally, always prioritizing fresh fruits without added sugars as dessert.

'Menjar blanc'

Ingredients 

300 g raw almonds

100 g sugar

100 g starch

1 cinnamon stick

1 l of water

1 lemon peel

q/s of salt

Elaboration

1. Blanch the almonds, peel, and chop.

2. Let it sit in water for a few hours and strain it through a cloth until all the almond milk drains out.

3. Put the almond milk on the heat with the cinnamon, sugar, salt, and lemon peel.

4. Add the diluted starch with a little water and continue stirring until it thickens.

5. Serve on a platter or in tartlets.

Advice

- Ingredients should always prioritize seasonal and local produce. However, for specific recommendations to achieve better organoleptic quality, unroasted and unsalted almonds are recommended. 
- Other ingredients that can be used for the recipe include hazelnuts, cashews, and pine nuts. 
- Orange peel can also be added to the almond milk infusion.