Catalan Onion and Almond Soup

I have been struggling with this soup for years. No matter what recipe I followed, I ultimately liked the idea better than the soup itself. Most recipes call for toasting the almonds, grinding them, and cooking them up with the onions. I found that this method imparts very little almond flavor to the soup and what remains has a slightly gritty texture. Just recently the light bulb went on. Why not steal a trick from ice cream making, I thought to myself. Toast the almonds, steep them in hot