Prosciutto and White Rose Nectarines with Green Almonds

Browsing through my neighborhood farmers' market this morning, I discovered that one of the fruit vendors was selling green almonds. The botanical kinship between almonds and stone fruit is apparent when you see green almonds - they look like immature peaches:












I immediately thought of the cover of Judy Rogers' "The Zuni Cafe Cookbook."











With white nectarines in season, I decided I needed to try her recipe for "Prosciutto and White Rose Nectarines with Green Almonds."

Paring through the flesh of the green almonds with a knife brings you down to a thin shell and the nutmeat:

The green almonds are similar to blanched, raw almonds - which is what Judy recommends using you can't get green almonds. The green almonds have a soft crunch and some vegetal notes - I was thinking of very fresh, uncooked green beans.


Here's what Judy says: "The rose scent, faint bitterness, and long flavor of a ripe white nectarine reveals flavors in prosciutto that you can miss when you taste the ham with sweeter fruit... During the few weeks a year we can get them, I do like to serve this dish with green almonds. Pried from their fuzzy pods and painstakingly peeled, tender unripe almonds have as delicate flavor as I know, one that reads best against something savory rather than sweet."

Isn't that beautiful?

The perfumed, meltingly soft, honeyed white nectarines play off very interestingly against the salt and fat of the prosciutto. And the green almonds take the dish another direction with their soft crunch, nuttiness, and vegetal notes. A very interesting tasting!