Lamb pilaf with green almonds
What’s green, furry and grows on trees?
I know that this sounds like the beginning to a terrible joke, but I do have a serious answer for you: almonds.
I’m going to be completely honest and tell you – I had no idea that immature almonds came in a fuzzy green pod. It’s not something that had ever crossed my mind. So when I saw some, I had to buy them.
Green almonds appear very briefly in early spring, and consist of a fuzzy outer shell and a soft white seed surrounded by a jelly-ish inner. After they are harvested, they eventually shrivel and harden and lose their furry coats.