getting to the greek

old cemetery down the street from me in Astoria, Queens

i love living in New York. more specifically, i love living in an outer borough that has not yet succumbed to becoming overly hip (though the increase in trendy restaurants along Ditmars blvd is a bit concerning).  when i first moved to Astoria some 15 years ago, it was mostly Greek families and working class Queens folks. many of the shop windows had signs exclusively in Greek. i was utterly enchanted. as the years have gone by, a lot of things have changed, from the Starbucks on the corner to the 7-11 and Subway by the train entrance. however, there are still many wonderful European markets catering to the somewhat dwindling but still present Mediterranean population. the best part of this for me is, as a foodie and avid cook, the many traditional food items that show up seasonally at the markets around me. i've seen uncured olives, fresh dates, dandelion greens (both sweet and bitter), and, most recently, green almonds.

every day as i walked to the train, i saw these piled up at the organic market at the foot of the subway stairs (this stretch of the N/Q line is above ground). i had also seen them in the local supermarket in a big basket in the produce section. unfortunately, i kept forgetting to look into how they were used as i have a bit of a walk home every day and would think of a million other things before my keys were in the front door. at last, in a moment of determination one morning, i turned to my smartphone to answer my questions as i waited for my train to leave. here is what Wikipedia told me:

"The almond (Prunus dulcis, syn. Prunus amygdalus Batsch., Amygdalus communis L., Amygdalus dulcis Mill.), is a species of tree native to the Middle East and South Asia. Almond is also the name of the edible and widely cultivated seed of this tree. Within the genus Prunus, it is classified with the peach in the subgenus Amygdalus, distinguished from the other subgenera by the corrugated shell (endocarp) surrounding the seed."


what an 'ah-ha!' moment! i learned last year, thanks to a DIY article in Imbibe magazine, that amaretto is made by soaking the seeds from the inside of apricots or even peaches in alcohol. i remember when trying it out myself that the seeds looked an awful lot like almonds. and the green almonds at the market looked a lot like very early peaches, green and fuzzy. but what to do with them? further research showed that they are a delicacy in Mediterranean, as they have a very short season, and are often pickled. so, on my way home, i picked up 3/4 lb of the little creatures and, armed with a recipe from here, i got cookin'.

 i sliced them in half and packed them in two 8 oz jam jars and one 4 oz. i also decided to taste one raw and found that they tasted very similar to an unripe peach. they also released a wonderful grassy/squashy smell when they were cut, reminding me of carving a jack o' lantern. plus they were just so pretty, with their bright green inner rim and lemony colored pulp.

 the brine was a bit of a sweet/sour mix. i opted for dried chilis because that was what i had on hand, and threw in a pickling spice blend that i have used for cucumber pickles in the past. i also had to laugh at myself a bit when i saw that the recipe called for raw sugar and found i had not one but two bags in the cabinet. oh the ingredients i keep around...! after adding the hot brine and screwing on the lids, i processed the jars for about 10 minutes in a hot water bath. sadly, the 4 oz jar must have been old and chipped somewhere because it burst in the pot...not as dramatic as it sounds, just a little muffled 'pop!' as the bottom cracked off and released the contents into the water. the other 2 jars were fine and the seals set after they were removed from the bath.

nutcracker squirrel can hardly wait for the almond pickles to cure!

 and now, i wait. at least a week. i'm very excited, as i'm a big fan of homemade pickles of all sorts. i'm also wondering if these might make a nice cocktail garnish, having recently forayed into making my own liqueurs and experimenting with twists on traditional cocktails. i'm also going to keep my eyes open for other unusual seasonal items that i can play with. golly, i sure do love NY!