So I got three pounds of fresh plain nuts. 1.5 pecans 1.5 walnuts.
Wondering if anyone has any recipes they favor.
Thanks.
I had to dig a little, since I no longer have the copy of Laurie Colwin’s “More Home Cooking” that this recipe appeared in, but this rosemary walnuts recipe is fantastic. Pecans should work well with it, too.
Not sure if you want a cake recipe - but this one is pretty impressive, without too much effort. Recommend making and filling the day of, so the filling can soften the meringue - sorry that it’s in metric, but easy enough to convert:
Nut Meringue Cake
150g ground nuts
3 1/2 tbs cornflour
200g caster sugar
5 egg whites
Filling of your choice - fruit, whipped cream, lemon curd, jam or nut chocolate cream.
Preheat oven to 180C, line 3 baking trays with baking paper and trace 20cm circles. Mix ground nuts, cornflour and 1/4c of sugar and set aside. Beat egg whites until stiff and add remaining sugar. Fold in nut mixture. Spread mix over baking paper and bake for 20min until meringues are biscuit coloured. Cool on racks.
Place 1 meringue on plate, and spread with 1/3 of filling, top with the second and spread etc. Refrigerate until needed.
Nut chocolate cream
100g nuts
1/3c icing sugar
100g bittersweet chocolate
1c softly whipped cream
Dryroast nuts at 180C, process nuts and sugar into an oily paste in food processor. Melt chocolate and add to the mix, process until smooth. Transfer to bowl and fold in cream.
One of my favorites…it’s hard to stop eating them.
Sweet and Spicy Pecans
1 1/2 cups pecan halves
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoon cumin
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon seasoning salt
Toss pecans in butter. Combine sugar and remaining ingredients. Sprinkle evenly over pecans and toss to coat. Spread pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet.
Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through. Cool and store in an airtight container. Makes 1 1/2 cups.
NOTE: The original recipe calls for seasoning salt, but I don’t think I used that. I don’t remember if I used plain salt or just left that out.
A variant of jamie Oliver’s praline semifreddo might work:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9123866/
Toasted walnuts, grilled and peeled red peppers, a splash of pomegranate juice and olive oil, and a dash of balsamic vinegar, combine into the Lebanese dip/spread muhammara, if you’re in need of savory recipes. Lovely fruity-bittersweet flavour. Just whack them in a blender until smooth, add salt and pepper, and you’re done.
I’ve also made a pasta sauce with spinach, ground walnuts and chopped mushrooms, but can’t recall the proportions at the moment. That’s the way it usually is with my culinary experiments.
Toasted pecans and walnuts are great to add to salads. Toasting really brings out the flavor. We take raw nuts and toast them in a cast iron skillet on the stovetop, but if the nuts are already toasted just sprinkle them on.
This is a great recipe. I’ve made it many times, and it still always surprises me every time with how good it is.