The recipe below comes from Filiz Hosukoglu, my great friend and guru for all things culinary in the Turkish city of Gaziantep. One day, after she’d seen my post online on fresh green almonds that can be eaten whole, she commented on how they cook them in yogurt in Turkey and when the nut inside is not yet fully formed. Within a month or so, the shell hardens and becomes inedible but is not yet so hard as to need cracking with a nutcracker. At this stage, the inner nut is fully formed and is the only edible part, along with the inner skin of course.

SERVES 4 TO 6

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 10½ ounces (300 g) lamb, cut into ½-inch (1 cm) cubes
• Sea salt
• 4 cups (1 liter) boiling water
• 1 pound 5 ounces (600 g) fresh green almonds, halved, the soft immature kernels removed, rinsed
• ⅓ cup (60 g) cooked chickpeas, well rinsed if canned

FOR THE SAUCE:

• 1½ cups (375 g) strained yogurt
• 1 organic egg

TO FINISH:

• 2 tablespoons (30 g) clarified butter
• ½ teaspoon finely ground black pepper
• ½ tablespoon safflower (see Note)
• Good bread, for serving

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the lamb and a little salt. Sauté the meat until it has browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the boiling water, reduce the heat, and let simmer for 30 minutes, or until the meat is tender.
3. Add the almond halves. (If the almonds are not fresh enough, blanch them first for 3 to 4 minutes to remove the acidic taste. You will be able to tell how fresh and tender they are if you taste one raw.) Cook for 30 more minutes, or until the fresh almonds are tender. Add the chickpeas and turn off the heat.
4. To make the sauce: Mix the yogurt with the egg in a separate pot. Place over medium-low heat and start stirring until the yogurt becomes hot enough to almost burn your little finger. (This is how Filiz’s grandmother used to describe the desired heat for the yogurt.) If the yogurt reaches a higher temperature or is allowed to boil without stirring, it will curdle. Add 2 to 3 tablespoons hot meat broth two or three times to the yogurt mixture to bring it to the same temperature as the broth.
5. Add the hot yogurt sauce to the meat, chickpeas, and fresh almonds. Cover and keep on very low heat—you do not want it to bubble, just to stay hot.
6. When ready to serve, combine the clarified butter, black pepper, and safflower in a skillet and place over medium heat. Wait until the butter starts sizzling. As soon as that happens, transfer the yogurt, meat, and almonds to a serving bowl. Drizzle the sizzling safflower butter all over the top. Serve immediately with good bread.