Pollas En Salsa De Almendras

This recipe is drawn from an early 20th-century Mexican family manuscript from Toluca, a collection that served as both a practical household guide and a cherished heirloom. Written in elegant script, these cookbooks highlighted a fusion of Spanish and Mexican culinary traditions well before the widespread availability of commercial cookbooks in Mexico. Recipes like 'Pollas en salsa de Almendras' showcase the cultural blending of Old World (almonds, pine nuts, wine, spices) and New World techniques (use of native poultry, adaptation to local lard or butter). The handwritten nature and familial passage of these cookbooks reflect the tightly woven fabric of domestic life and the importance of food heritage in Mexican households at the turn of the 20th century.

The original cook would have used a heavy clay or cast-iron comal for toasting almonds and bread, and a traditional cazuela (earthenware pot) for simmering the stew. Grinding was accomplished with a stone metate or a heavy mortar and pestle, ensuring a robust, slightly rustic texture. Garlic and other aromatics were fried in pork fat (lard) on the hearth or over charcoal stoves. Knives for butchery and cleaving poultry would have been carbon steel, kept sharp with a whetstone.