Bacon that is not bacon

For the math department potluck held at our place on April Fool's Day, it seemed appropriate to make a joke dish. I took my inspiration for "the bacon that isn't bacon" from hundreds of years ago.

Diners of the Middle Ages were amused by illusion foods, foods that pretended to be other things. I made a simple marzipan recipe a couple of years ago, based on a couple of pre-1600 recipes I'd found, that resulted in a paste that could be colored and molded into fun shapes. The reason for creating the recipe was to make marzipan look like bacon. Here's how it works:

Marzipan Bacon
Take equal weights almond flour (ground blanched almonds with no brown bits from nut skins) and powdered sugar and whisk together. Make two batches of the same mixture. A little goes a long way here. I made two batches, using 25 grams of almond flour and 25 grams of powdered sugar each, to make enough for a potluck of 20 people.

With one batch, moisten lightly with water and food coloring. For red, a historically appropriate coloring is powdered saunders. I've also had good luck with cranberry juice reduced until it is syrupy (not historically accurate for pre-1600 Europe). If a rose flavor is desired, add a few drops of rosewater. To the other batch, just add water with or without rosewater. Stir and knead until the marzipan and coloring/water are thoroughly mixed, adding more almond/sugar mix or water if needed to get a claylike texture.

For best results, chill the almond paste wrapped tightly in plastic, then shape after 3 to 5 hours or the next day. Simply resting the paste in a cool place (not the refrigerator) would be more historically accurate. Divide the red paste into two or three parts, and the white paste into three or five parts. Roll out each part into a small rectangle, making all the rectangles the same width and length. Thicknesses will vary, which is fine. Layer the rectangles: start with white, lay red on top, then white, red, white, red, white. Cut off the short ends of the rectangles, then start slicing the marzipan into strips. Take each strip and roll it gently with the rolling pin to stretch it out and smooth it. Now you have bacon!

Keep covered in plastic and chilled for best texture if you have to wait before serving.