Best of Times

“Don’t forget the paella.”

It was a sentiment expressed several times during the weeks that the Food Section’s writers and editors discussed which dishes to include in the year’s Top 10 recipe list.

Sure enough, when the votes were counted, Hosteria Derby’s Mexican Paella was the clear winner. No other recipe came close.

The rest of the list wasn’t as easy to tally. With an abundance of excellent recipes printed in 1996, choosing just 10 to reprint was difficult. But choose we did.

Our sole criterion: taste. Each year we get a couple of letters asking why we don’t print more low-fat recipes in our annual Top 10. As it happens, we almost always end up with a few low-fat dishes--this year a grapefruit ice and a terrine of summer berries made the cut.

But this is our time to pick recipes that meet no agenda. These are simply the recipes that gave us the most pleasure in 1996.

1: MONSTER PAELLA

In late November, we printed a Culinary SOS request from Diane, who asked whether we could find the Mexican paella recipe from Hosteria Derby, a restaurant in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. “It was so delicious, I want to tell the world about it,” Diane wrote.

Columnist Rose Dosti found the recipe and told a good portion of the world about the dish. “The multi-ingredient recipe is for staunch cooks who love puttering in the kitchen,” Dosti wrote, “and searching for ingredients (a Mexican grocery store is your best bet to find all the chiles required). This paella deserves a party crowd and a round of applause.”

The staff agreed.

HOSTERIA DERBY’S MEXICAN PAELLA

24 medium shrimp

3 to 4 quarts fish or chicken stock

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup vegetable oil

6 cloves garlic, sliced

1 sprig rosemary, chopped

12 pork ribs

12 Catalonian sausages (Spanish sausage) or any pork sausage, thickly sliced

12 small chicken drumsticks or thighs or 12 chicken half breasts, cut up

1 rabbit, cut up, optional

1/4 cup tequila, rum or brandy

5 tablespoons chopped onion

3 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, deveined and chopped

6 red bell peppers, cut in thin strips

8 small hot chiles (gueros or serranos), deveined, optional

12 small artichokes, trimmed of tough outer leaves, stems peeled

Juice of 2 lemons or vinegar

3 dried ancho chiles, roasted, deveined and soaked in hot water

1 (2-inch) stick cinnamon, toasted

Salt or 1 tablespoon chicken bouillon powder

1 pound tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped

36 small squid, cleaned

12 large shrimp or prawns with heads intact

36 clams

4 1/2 cups converted rice

1/2 pound pea pods, shelled (1/2 cup frozen peas)

2 tablespoons chopped parsley

Peel medium shrimp, reserving meat in covered container in refrigerator. Cook shells in simmering stock until they turn color, about 10 minutes. Strain stock, discarding shells. Return stock to pan and keep hot.

Heat 1/2 cup olive oil and vegetable oil in paella pan. Add 4 cloves garlic and rosemary and cook over medium-high heat until garlic browns, about 5 minutes. Remove garlic and rosemary.

Add ribs and sausages and brown over medium-high heat, about 10 minutes. Remove to platter.

Add chicken and rabbit to pan and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove to platter.

Deglaze pan by adding 3 tablespoons tequila, placing pan over high heat until sauce bubbles and reduces, and scraping up solids stuck to bottom of pan. Carefully light remaining tablespoon tequila in ladle and immediately add to tequila in pan. Flame until all alcohol burns off.

Add onion, poblanos, 1/2 of bell peppers and small hot chiles to pan. Cook until tender, about 8 minutes.

In separate saucepan, cook artichokes in simmering water and lemon juice until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and cut in half. Add to paella pan and cook until golden, about 5 minutes. Remove to platter.

Grind ancho chiles with remaining 2 garlic cloves, 2 tablespoons olive oil, cinnamon and salt to taste. Add to paella pan along with tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes. Add squid, peeled medium and head-on large shrimp and clams to pan, cover tightly, and cook just until shrimp are done and clams open, about 5 minutes. Remove seafood to platter.

Add rice to pan and cook, stirring, 3 to 4 minutes. Add 14 cups strained hot stock to pan and cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes.

Return chicken, ribs and sausage to pan, cover and cook 15 more minutes, adding more stock if necessary. Return artichokes, medium shrimp, squid and clams to pan (reserving large shrimp for garnish) and cook 5 more minutes.

Add peas and 1/2 to 1 cup more hot stock to paella, cover and remove from heat. Set aside 5 minutes until ready to serve. Garnish with remaining strips of bell pepper, large shrimp and sprinkling of parsley.

Makes 12 to 14 servings.

Each of 14 servings contains about:

824 calories; 1,407 mg sodium; 202 mg cholesterol; 42 grams fat; 64 grams carbohydrates; 44 grams protein; 1.27 grams fiber.

* Bowl and platter from Cottura: Melrose Avenue and Century City Shopping Center, Los Angeles, and Fashion Island, Newport Beach.

2: WILD BUCKLE

Among the cobblers, slumps, grunts, crisps, pandowdies and other old-time Yankee desserts we tried in The Times Test Kitchen for a Fourth of July report by Food writer Charles Perry, wild blueberry buckle was our favorite. It disappeared within minutes.

In effect, a buckle is an upside-down cake with the fruit in the middle. “To make a buckle,” Perry wrote, “you mix fruit (usually berries) into the pudding dough and bake it, usually with a streusel topping. The result is like a rich, fruity coffee cake. In some recipes, the fruit is arranged on top of the dough and sinks into it while baking. There’s no persuasive explanation for the name ‘buckle,’ though maybe people thought it looked as if it were buckling when the fruit sank.”

The following recipe is from “The Jordan Collection of New England Cookery” (Jordan Hospital Club, Plymouth, Mass., 1976).

WILD BLUEBERRY BUCKLE

BUCKLE

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1 egg

2 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup milk

2 cups blueberries

STREUSEL

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/3 cup flour

1/4 cup butter

BUCKLE

Cream sugar and shortening by beating until fluffy, then beat in egg.

Sift together flour, salt and baking powder. Add to shortening alternately with milk. Blend in blueberries and pour into buttered and floured 10x6-inch baking dish.

STREUSEL

Mix sugar, cinnamon, flour and butter and sprinkle over top of buckle. Bake at 375 degrees until top is browned, about 45 minutes.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 6 servings contains about:

517 calories; 440 mg sodium; 58 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 84 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 0.76 gram fiber.

3: COCONUTTY CAKE

They call Los Olivos restaurateur and cook Anne Bunch the garlic queen. “I love it fresh, roasted, grilled, chopped, pressed--I use it in almost everything,” Bunch told Times Food writer Barbara Hansen in a profile that was published in October. But of the recipes from Bunch’s Side Street Cafe that made in our test kitchen, it was her coconut cake that Food staffers liked best. Not one clove of garlic in it.

ANNE BUNCH’S COCONUT CAKE

It’s more convenient to make the pastry cream the day before so it will be completely cooled and ready to fill the cake.

CAKE

4 eggs

2 cups sugar

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour plus extra for dusting

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

1 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Grated peel of 1/2 lemon

Nonstick cooking spray

PASTRY CREAM

1 1/3 cups milk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

6 egg yolks

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 pound mascarpone cheese or cream cheese

ASSEMBLY

2 cups whipping cream, whipped

3 cups sweetened flake coconut

CAKE

Beat eggs and sugar in mixer at high speed until pale and frothy. Turn off mixer and add 2 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, salt, oil, wine, vanilla and lemon peel. Beat 2 minutes at high speed.

Divide batter between 2 (9-inch) layer cake pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray and dusted inside with extra flour. Bake at 350 degrees until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 5 minutes. Turn out and cool completely.

PASTRY CREAM

Heat milk and vanilla to boil and keep hot.

Beat sugar and egg yolks in mixer until fluffy and pale in color. Reduce speed, add cornstarch and beat until blended. Add hot milk, beating continuously. When well blended, return to saucepan and heat slowly, stirring constantly to keep mixture from sticking to bottom of pan. Cook until very thick. Pour into bowl, cover with plastic wrap and set aside to cool.

When completely cooled, combine cream mixture with mascarpone cheese to form thick filling.

ASSEMBLY

Spread all of Pastry Cream in thick, even layer on bottom cake layer. Cover with top cake layer. Frost top and sides of cake with whipped cream and cover with coconut.

Makes 12 to 16 servings.

Each of 16 servings contains about:

668 calories; 362 mg sodium; 229 mg cholesterol; 43 grams fat; 63 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.34 gram fiber.

4: KILLER KORMA

Lucknow, a city renowned among India’s Muslims for its elegant way of life, is where this refined, highly aromatic dish comes from. We printed the recipe last January in Charles Perry’s review of Camellia Panjabi’s “The Great Curries of India.” The recipe calls for kewra essence, an exotic flavoring reminiscent of roses, jasmine and sandalwood that is made from one of the many varieties of pandanus leaves. It can be overwhelming, so be careful not to add too much. Buy it at Indian grocers and import shops or use rose water instead. And be sure to use yogurt without thickeners like gelatin or tapioca, which could change the texture of the dish.

LAMB SHANK KORMA

Serve this dish over rice.

GARAM MASALA

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom or 1 green cardamom pod

LAMB SHANKS

Saffron

2 to 3 teaspoons kewra essence or rose water

2 onions

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 ounces (1/3 cup) raw cashews

4 serrano chiles, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon minced ginger root

1 tablespoon minced garlic

2 to 3 lamb shanks, about 2 to 2 1/2 pounds total

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons cayenne

3 tablespoons plain yogurt

3/4 teaspoon ground mace

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom or 3 green cardamom pods, husked and crushed

1 quart water

Juice of 1 lime

GARAM MASALA

Mix cinnamon, cloves, pepper and cardamom. If using green cardamom pod, remove seeds from husk and pound to powder before adding.

LAMB SHANKS

Lightly crush several threads of saffron and soak in kewra essence at least 15 minutes. Set aside.

Slice onions thin and heat 1/4 cup oil in skillet. Add onions and fry until medium brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Add cashews and fry until onions are quite brown, 5 minutes longer. Tip skillet up and use spatula to press oil out of onion mixture. Discard oil and transfer onion mixture to bowl. When cool, puree in food processor.

Heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in skillet and add chiles, bay leaves, ginger, garlic, lamb shanks, coriander, 1/2 Garam Masala and salt. Saute over medium heat 10 minutes, stirring continuously.

Reduce heat to low. Add cayenne and yogurt, stir continuously 3 minutes and simmer until yogurt is absorbed, 3 to 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 Garam Masala, mace and cardamom and saute 2 to 3 minutes. Add water, bring to boil, reduce heat to medium-low, cover and cook until lamb shanks are tender, 2 hours.

When lamb is done, remove to warm oven; debone if wished. Stir reserved onion mixture into sauce and reduce over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until silky brown gravy forms, about 10 minutes. Add lime juice and saffron-kewra mixture. Stir meat in sauce to coat.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

330 calories; 921 mg sodium; 32 mg cholesterol; 27 grams fat; 15 grams

carbohydrates; 11 grams protein; 1.22 grams fiber.

5: LIGHTEST ICE

Few foods are cleaner-tasting than this grapefruit ice, which Times Test Kitchen Director Donna Deane developed for an early January cover story on low-fat cooking. After so many turkeys and rich holiday desserts, this recipe became an early favorite of ours. It not only tastes great, it also has a beautiful pink hue. The amount of sugar will vary according to the sweetness of the grapefruit--some people love it without any sugar. The ice is best when served slightly slushy.

GRAPEFRUIT ICE

2 cups pink grapefruit juice (about 3 grapefruit)

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon lime juice

Combine grapefruit juice, sugar, Grand Marnier and lime juice. Freeze in ice cream freezer according to manufacturer’s directions. Spoon into chilled glass dishes, cover and freeze until serving time.

Makes 4 servings.

Each serving contains about:

105 calories; 1 mg sodium; 0 mg cholesterol; 0 grams fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0 grams fiber.

6: CHEWY COOKIE

Over the years, several Culinary SOS readers have requested recipes for soft molasses cookies; one specified the kind sold off the Helm’s Bakery trucks that used to roam the Southland. This is the recipe we published in November, and it’s a good one. After testing it, we couldn’t stop eating the cookies.

An interesting note: Since 1987, we’ve printed four slightly different molasses cookie recipes. One version, using shortening instead of butter, different proportions of sugar, flour, molasses and spices and no egg, was credited to reader Ellen Meehan of Alhambra, who won a “My Best Recipe” prize with it in 1965. Another version was identical to the one printed here with the addition of a teaspoon of ground allspice and a teaspoon of ground cloves. Finally, another version called for allspice and cloves but also shortening and different proportions of the other ingredients. We weren’t able to discover why the recipes differ, but we do know that this one makes terrific cookies.

SOFT MOLASSES COOKIES

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup molasses

1 egg

2 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/4 cup water

Cream butter with sugar by beating together until light and fluffy. Beat in molasses and egg.

Sift flour with ginger, cinnamon and salt.

Dissolve baking soda in water. Add flour mixture to butter mixture, then add baking soda mixture, beating well between additions.

Drop by tablespoons onto greased and floured baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees until cracked and barely set, about 10 minutes. Remove from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Each cookie contains about:

81 calories; 47 mg sodium; 13 mg cholesterol; 3 grams fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram protein; 0.03 gram fiber.

7: CLASSIC SHORTCAKE

New York chef Larry Forgione says that when James Beard first tasted Forgione’s strawberry shortcake, the food guru pronounced: “There can be no dessert better, only fancier.” After tasting Forgione’s shortcake for ourselves, we had to agree. Most of us said we’d never tasted a better shortcake. The secret: hard-boiled egg yolk mixed into the dough. The recipe comes from Forgione’s cookbook “An American Place” (William Morrow: 1996, $30), which was chosen as one of our favorite cookbooks of 1996.

OLD-FASHIONED STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE

SHORTCAKE

2 cups flour

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

6 tablespoons butter, chilled and cut into small pieces

3/4 cup whipping cream

2 hard-boiled egg yolks, mashed

2 tablespoons melted butter

FILLING AND ASSEMBLY

3 pints strawberries, washed, hulled and halved or quartered (depending on size)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 cup whipping cream

SHORTCAKE

Sift flour, 1/4 cup sugar and baking powder into bowl. Add chilled butter pieces. Using your fingertips, work butter quickly and lightly into flour until mixture is consistency of very fine crumbs of sand. Add cream and egg yolks and stir with fork until dough just comes together.

Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead briefly, just until smooth dough forms. Do not overwork. Pat or roll out dough to 3/4-inch thickness. Using floured 2 1/2- or 3-inch cookie cutter, cut out 4 rounds of dough. Gather up dough scraps, reroll and cut out 2 more rounds.

Put rounds on lightly buttered baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with remaining tablespoon sugar. Bake on middle rack of oven at 375 degrees until biscuits are golden brown and firm to the touch, 12 to 15 minutes.

FILLING AND ASSEMBLY

Toss strawberries and sugar together in bowl.

Whip cream several minutes until soft peaks form. Cover and refrigerate.

Transfer biscuits to cooling rack and cool 2 to 3 minutes.

Carefully split biscuits in half and set tops aside. Place bottom halves on dessert plates and heap strawberries onto them. Generously spoon whipped cream over strawberries and replace biscuit tops. Serve immediately with any remaining whipped cream on side.

Makes 6 servings.

Each serving contains about:

642 calories; 421 mg sodium; 208 mg cholesterol; 44 grams fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 8 grams protein; 0.96 gram fiber.

8: ALL-NIGHTER

The slow-cooking Sabbath stew cholent reminded a few tasters in The Times Test Kitchen of the French bean-and-meat stew cassoulet. One difference: This stew calls for barley, which adds a nice textural contrast to the softer beans. The recipe, which was published with a story by Joan Nathan describing the tradition of cholent and its many variations, was adapted from one Nathan got from Sara Brizdle Dickman and Dassi Stern. After we printed the recipe, a couple of readers called asking about the addition of 10 to 12 eggs in the stew. The eggs are put into the cholent with their shells left on. The slow, long heat cooks the eggs, which are then peeled before serving or at the table. The stew may also be made without the eggs.

CHOLENT

1 cup mixed dried beans (cranberry, kidney, large and small navy beans, black) or lentils

Water

1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

2 large onions, chopped, plus 1 whole onion with skin

3 pounds flanken (short ribs) or chuck in 1 piece

2 tablespoons honey

3/4 cup barley

6 potatoes, peeled and left whole

2 cloves garlic or as much as 1/2 head, peeled and left whole

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

2 teaspoons paprika

Neck bones or marrow bones (about 1 pound)

10 to 12 eggs, in shells, washed

Day before cooking, soak beans 6 hours in water to cover. Rinse and drain.

Heat oil in large skillet and cook chopped onions until soft, 3 to 5 minutes. Add meat and brown on both sides.

Heat honey in bottom of 8-quart casserole over low heat until it darkens and caramelizes, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Add beans, barley, potatoes, meat and cooked onions. Scatter garlic around meat.

Before Shabbat starts, dissolve salt, pepper and paprika in small amount of water and pour over meat, adding enough water just to cover. Add meat bones, whole onion (skin adds color) and eggs (in shells) to pot. Bring to boil. Cover pot with aluminum foil and lid and simmer 30 minutes on stove top. Remove to 200-degree oven and cook overnight.

Next morning, remove lid and check water. If water covers meat, uncover and bake 2 more hours so that water evaporates to make thick sauce. If there is no water, add some.

Serve each ingredient separately on serving plates or on very large platter with ingredients separated.

Variations:

Alsatian Cholent: Use lima beans instead of other beans.

Vegetarian Cholent: Omit meat and add 1 (15-ounce) can tomatoes.

Indian Vegetarian Cholent: Omit canned tomatoes and add 2 teaspoons each ground cumin, tarragon and turmeric, and 1/2 teaspoon each ground ginger, cinnamon and curry powder.

Makes at least 10 servings.

Each of 10 servings contains about:

380 calories; 548 mg sodium; 61 mg cholesterol; 10 grams fat; 42 grams carbohydrates; 30 grams protein; 1.19 grams fiber.

6: BERRY INTENSE

In her summer story about the world of gelatins beyond Jell-O, Michelle Huneven got a lesson in gelatins and aspics from French-trained chef Patrick Healy, who runs the kitchens at Xiomara and Oye! in Pasadena and the Buffalo Club in West Los Angeles. In this dessert recipe, Healy demonstrated that a gelatin mold can be very sophisticated indeed. He cooks 12 pints of fresh fruit until it reduces into a delicious sweet syrup that gives the finished dish a wonderful, intense flavor.

TERRINE OF SUMMER BERRIES IN ASPIC

This is a great way to make use of the berries available at farmers markets in summer. It is visually stunning too.

BERRY TERRINE

3 1/2 pints strawberries, hulled, sliced and halved

3 1/2 pints blackberries

3 1/2 pints blueberries

3 1/2 pints raspberries

1 cup water

1 1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cup lemon juice

10 leaves sheet gelatin or 2 1/2 (1/4-ounce) packets unflavored gelatin

YOGURT SAUCE

1/2 vanilla bean

1/4 cup whipping cream

1 cup yogurt

Milk

BERRY TERRINE

Simmer 3 pints strawberries, 3 pints blackberries, 3 pints blueberries, 3 pints raspberries, water, sugar and lemon juice over low heat 20 minutes. Strain through cheesecloth.

If using gelatin leaves, soak in very cold water until soft, about 2 minutes, and squeeze out excess water. Measure 1 quart hot berry juice (save excess berry juice for another use) and add soaked gelatin leaves or packets of gelatin. Cool to room temperature.

Mix remaining strawberries, blackberries, blueberries and raspberries in terrine or mold. Pour room-temperature berry aspic over fresh berries and refrigerate until set, at least 4 hours or overnight.

YOGURT SAUCE

Using point of knife blade, scrape seeds from inside vanilla bean and add them to whipping cream. Beat cream until whipped. Slowly whisk in yogurt. Add milk to reach desired consistency, about 1/4 cup.

To serve, slice Berry Terrine and place each slice on top of 2 tablespoons chilled Yogurt Sauce.

Makes 12 servings:

Each serving, without yogurt sauce, contains about:

285 calories; 10 mg sodium; 0 cholesterol; 2 grams fat; 70 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 8.19 grams fiber.

Each serving, with yogurt sauce, contains about:

357 calories; 51 mg sodium; 19 mg cholesterol; 7 grams fat; 74 grams carbohydrates; 7 grams protein; 8.19 grams fiber.

10: SIGNATURE TART

On the opening night of Alice Water’s Berkeley restaurant Chez Panisse, pastry chef Lindsey Shere served almond tart. Twenty-five years later, just before the restaurant’s silver anniversary, we found Shere still in the kitchen, overseeing the desserts of Chez Panisse for Waters, who went on to become the mother of California cuisine. In our cover story looking back at the impact of Chez Panisse on American cooking, we printed this version of Shere’s signature tart from the “Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook” (Random House, 1982); it also appears in “Chez Panisse Desserts” by Lindsey Shere (Random House, 1985).

LINDSEY SHERE’S ALMOND TART

TART PASTRY

1/2 cup butter

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon sugar

3 to 4 drops almond extract

3 to 4 drops vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cold water

FILLING

1 cup whipping cream

3/4 cup sugar

Pinch salt

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier

1 tablespoon kirsch

2 drops almond extract

1 cup blanched sliced almonds

TART PASTRY

Cut butter into bits and let soften slightly. Mix flour and sugar in bowl. Cut butter into flour with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine almond and vanilla extracts with cold water in small bowl, then quickly stir mixture into flour. Gather dough into ball and flatten slightly. Cover with plastic wrap and chill at least 1 hour.

Allow dough to stand at room temperature briefly until it is malleable. Roll out dough and press into 9-inch tart form with removable ring, reserving small amount. Press dough evenly over bottom and sides of pan, about 1/8-inch thick, and extend dough 1/8 inch above top of ring. Prick shell lightly and refrigerate at least 1 hour. Dough may be refrigerated 8 hours or frozen.

Partly bake tart shell at 400 degrees until shell begins to set and brown, about 10 minutes. Remove shell to cake rack and cool to room temperature. Patch any holes in shell by smoothing very small bit of reserved dough over tears.

FILLING

Bring whipping cream, sugar, salt, Grand Marnier, kirsch and almond extract to full rolling boil in large, heavy saucepan. Cook until liquid bubbles thickly and has silky texture, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add almonds. Set aside 15 minutes to steep, then pour into prepared tart shell.

Line floor of oven with aluminum foil and bake tart on center rack at 350 degrees 20 to 30 minutes. Filling will bubble up and may overflow, then settle and begin to caramelize. Rotate tart frequently during last 15 minutes of baking so top is even deep golden brown. Remove tart to cake rack and let cool to room temperature before cutting.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Each of 8 servings contains about:

450 calories; 160 mg sodium; 72 mg cholesterol; 32 grams fat; 35 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams protein; 0.46 gram fiber.