An admitted snacker, I adore nuts for their versatility and ability to satisfy. While almonds are a good standby, pistachios are my all-time favorite. I find them just right as an afternoon snack or as fuel for road trips, but I especially love to bake off a special batch for parties or visitors. When it comes to entertaining, I splurge on pecans and dress them up with spices. The beauty of nuts is that they can take on a range of taste from sweet to savory to spicy; the best yet is a hybrid of all three in what I like to call Hot Nuts! Consider it my culmination of many, many recipe tastings, best enjoyed by people who like a nut that bites back. This guy is fiery! The coating is not too sugary or thick and can be eaten solo, nibbled with cocktails or sprinkled over a bowl of ice cream. They smell a lot like Christmas cookies but get a great reception all year round.
For more nut recipes, I like Party Nuts! by Sally Sampson. The Boston area cookbook author whips up fun little stories with each recipe, often drawing on local chefs like Chris Schlesinger or magazine giants like Gourmet's John Willoughby or random relations like "Jenny's friend Leo's grandmother." Not only does her stuff span the nut spectrum from Tabasco almonds to curried peanuts, but she gives insightful tips on buying, toasting and storing. -sy
HOT NUTS!
1 pound raw pecans or raw walnuts or a combination
2 large egg whites
6 T butter, room temp
1 C sugar
1 ½ T freshly ground black pepper
¾ tsp kosher salt
1 T ground cinnamon
¾ tsp ground cloves
¾ tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp chili powder
METHOD:
Preheat oven to 325° F.
In a bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
In a mixing bowling, combine the butter and dry ingredients on medium.
Add the egg whites and mix well.
Add the nuts by hand to coat evenly.
Spread nuts on a baking sheet in an even layer and bake, tossing every 5 minutes, until the nuts are toasted through, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove from the oven, turning every few minutes, until cool. It is important to continue turning, or they will weld to the baking sheet.
Serve immediately or store in an airtight container.
We had these spicy nuts for the first time last Christmas. They were made by a friend of a friend, a now-elderly German "war bride" who brought the recipe from her native land. They were surprisingly scrumptious. I've been wanting the recipe ever since and here it is. Wow. It's a delightful surprise, and I'm not sure we'd have taken proper note if we didn't already know how tasty and addictive these are.
Posted by: Wendy | July 08, 2007 at 07:51 PM