Catalan recipes: Turrón

The turrón, or in English, nougat, is something between a pastry and a dessert, usually made with honey, sugar, egg whites and almonds.

Despite not being a created-in Catalonia, the turrón is very popular in this region, enjoyed by all during the Christmas season. So today ShBarcelona is going to share the recipe for the two most popular types of turrón in Spain: turrón de Jijona and turrón de Alicante.

This might not exactly be the recipe you will want to try in your holiday accommodation, but maybe you will take the recipe back home with you and try it in the comfort of your own kitchen?

Related article: Catalan Recipes: Panellets

Two recipes for turrón

Turrón de Jijona (soft)

Ingredients

300 g of crushed roasted almonds (unsalted)
100 g of sugar
200 g of honey
½ small spoon of cinnamon
Lemon zest
1 egg white

Step by step recipe

• You will need a turrón mould for this recipe. Grease it before starting to cook.
• Pour the honey and the sugar in a pan. Let it warm up on the stove until the sugar has completely melted.
• Remove the pan from the oven. Give it a moment to rest and add the egg white, whipping the mix vigorously.
• Place the pan in the oven again and warm the mix up using slow heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the mix becomes thick.
• Remove the pan from the stove, add the crushed almond, the cinnamon and the lemon zest. Mix well until it is smooth. It will be difficult, but keep on it!
• Place the pan over the stove again and cook for a little longer, until you feel the mix gets loose, not adhering to the pan. You have to keep stirring so the mix doesn’t burn.
• To know if the mix is ready, take a little bit of it in a spoon. If in 30 seconds it becomes solid, it’s ready.
• Pour the mix into the mould. This process should be done quickly to avoid the mix getting cold. Even out the surface of the mix using a spatula.
• Let the turrón get cold and then place it inside the fridge for a couple of hours, until it gets the ideal consistency.

Related article: Typical Catalan Dishes to Celebrate Christmas

Turrón de Alicante (hard)

Ingredients

250 g of peeled, slightly roasted almonds (not crushed, full)
200 g of honey
100 g of sugar
1 egg white

Recipe

• Again, you will need a turrón mould for this recipe, but instead of greasing it, you will place cooking paper inside it.
• Whip the egg white until it becomes firm and set it aside.
• Place the honey and sugar inside a pan. Keep stirring it until the it boils, in order to get a homogenized and thick mix.
• Remove the pan from the oven and add the fluffed egg white, stirring at the same time. When the mix becomes homogenized, place on the stove again. Keep stirring while the mix heats up, until it becomes thicker.
• Add the almonds. Mix very well, then pour the contents of the pan inside the turrón mould.
• Let it cool down.

Enjoy!

Let us know if you have tried one of these two recipes! Did it taste delicious?