Recipe - Toasted Almond Soup The Inn At Long Last

2 qt Chicken or vegetable stock
1/3 cup Longgrain rice
One half cup Blanched almonds
1 tablespoon Butter
1 Large onion, chopped
1 tablespoon Finely chopped garlic
One fourth cup Dry Sherry
2 tablespoon Almond paste
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 cup Evaporated skim milk
Salt and white pepper
1 One fourth cup Slivered toasted almonds
Grated orange zest

1. Spray a large soup pot with Pam. Add the stock and bring to a boil.
Turn down the heat to mediumlow, and add the rice and blanced almonds.
Cover and let cook slowly for 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, spray a 10inch skillet with Pam, and in it melt the butter
over medium heat. Add the onion, and saute until it starts to soften,
about 3 One half minutes. Lower the heat slightly, and add the garlic. Continue
cooking, stirring constantly, to soften the garlic for about 20 seconds.
Stir in the sherry, then crumble in the almond paste a bit at a time.
Remove the skillet from the heat, and whisk well to smooth it out.
3. Lower the heat under the stock to the barest possible simmer. Add the
onion mixture, the orange zest, and evaporated skim milk. Let cook to blend
flavors, 10 minutes more.
4. Puree the soup, in batches, in a food processor, then put through a
foodmill or power strainer. Season to taste with salt and white pepper.
5. Reheat just before serving, and serve, very hot, in small cups. Garnish
soup with toasted almonds and the merest bit of orange zest.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini