Go nuts!
February 6, 2010
A couple of people have asked me for this recipe, which constituted one of the bits of our Christmas present to family & a few friends. These are totally delicious and very easy, even when I was making ten times the quantity.
It’s a Karen Martini recipe, from that second book, Cooking at Home, one of the better books in my collection (mind you, it may shortly be replaced in my affections by the fabulous-looking Bistro Cooking, by Patricia Wells, which the Empress just gave me!)
I used a mix of cashews, almonds and pecans but you could throw any raw nut in I reckon – these are very good with drinks. We made sure to spend lots of time with family over Christmas so we could eat theirs as well as ours. I packaged them up in cellophane bags and then threw them in the freezer, and just pulled out before giving them away.
Karen Martini’s Spanish-Inspired Spiced Almonds
40g unsalted butter
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
400g large blanched almonds (or a mix of other nuts)
3 large cloves garlic, bruised with the back of a knife
4 tablespoons sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
2 teaspoons castor sugar
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
2 pinches cayenne pepper
½ egg white, lightly whisked
Preheat oven to 170 degrees Celcius and line a baking tray with baking paper. Melt butter and olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add almonds and garlic and stir constantly for 4-5 minutes or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, discard garlic and put almonds in a large bowl.
Place salt and coriander seeds in a mortar and pestle and grind into a powder. Add the sugar and spices and mix well. Add the spice mix and egg white to almonds and toss together.
Spread almonds on baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes. Remove and cool completely on the tray, then store in an airtight container for up to a week – or in the freezer forever.
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I was lucky enough to score a bag of these and they are fricking delicious. I’ll be making them some time soon. Thanks for the recipe Madame!
Yum. these are amazing. and all gone. So thanks for sharing recipe.
hooo! i’ve never heard of these, but they sound incredible…
These sound dangerously more-ish.
[…] few friends (that was a lot of egg-cracking), and second, in the making of 10 times the quantity of these spiced nuts, which I once again stuffed into the family food gifts this […]