The Easy Addition To Brighten Almondine Sauce

Almondine, as its name suggests, is all about the almonds. It's a sauce where the nut dominates, most often in the form of slices or slivers. Those almonds are then added to a delicious base of butter, which, of course, makes any dish taste all the better.

Given the sauce's simplicity, making your own almondine is fairly straightforward. You simply melt better on the stove. Then, you add your sliced almonds and let them toast. You'll know it's ready when the concoction has had enough time to brown. Once you get to this point, add some lemon juice and perhaps some salt.

From there, pair your almondine with your meal, whether it's fish or green beans. Almondine typically complements trout, but most fish — particularly lean fish — work well with the sauce. Almondine is rich but versatile — it's able to dress up everything from a main course to a side dish.

Although your almondine is surely great as is, you can take the classic sauce one step further. To brighten your almondine to its full potential, add one final ingredient. Sure, the use anything extra may seem like unnecessary work. However, if you're making almondine, you likely already have this ingredient handy. All you have to do is repurpose your sauce's final ingredient. 

You're already using lemon, so why not incorporate some zest in addition to juice?

Yes, to brighten your almondine, circle back to that final addition of citrus. That boost of lemon juice already enhances your almondine's flavor and adds a kick of acidity that complements the richness of your butter. However, the addition of zest takes that lemon flavor one step further. Simply grate in some lemon zest, and your almondine will be off the charts — and off your plate in no time. 

Zest deviates from standard almondine recipes but is well worth the grating process. Lemony almondine works especially well in fish recipes and you can use the sauce for any and all foods that benefit from almonds, butter, and, of course, citrus. 

As for what kind of lemon to use, the choice is yours. You also don't have to stick specifically with lemons. Any citrus — or combination of citrus — can offer a subtle kick of acidity.