recipe carousel #28 - nuts

Oh nuts!

Today’s Recipe Carousel is all about nuts.

No, not those kind of nuts. Get your mind out of the gutter!

I’m talking about those delicious kernels used in almost every culture’s cuisine (except perhaps Inuit). Due to their high oil content, nuts are an important energy source for humans and animals. In gastronomy, any kernel with a shell that’s eaten can be considered a nut, but in botany almonds, cashews, macadamias, peanuts, pinenuts and pistachios are not considered nuts.

So, after that perplexing intro, here are seven nutty recipes for your week.

Peanut Nougatine Millefeuille w Chilled Peanut Infusion is another legendary creation from dessert goddess J in Singapore (Kuidaore). Based on a Michel Bras recipe, J crumbles homemade peanut pâte sable with caramelised sugar then reheats this crispy nougatine until pliable. The thin wafers are then layered with bittersweet chocolate crème pâtissière and served with a creamy Peanut Infusion, made by toasting peanuts then grinding them and adding to simmering sweetened cream and milk. This is chilled then strained before serving. Photo courtesy of J.

Chilli Roasted Cashews are comfort food to Chandrika in the USA (AkshayaPatra). The smell of roasting cashew nuts invokes memories of Sundays when her mother would cook these delicious nuts for the whole family and everyone would need to get in quick before Chandrika’s little sister ate them all. In Chandrika’s recipe she uses pepper, ghee and chilli for this spicy snack. Photo courtesy of Chandrika.

White Chocolate & Chestnut Cheesecake is the most popular dessert in Zinnur’s huge repertoire (Our Patisserie). Zinnur makes her own chestnut purée which creates a lighter colour and smoother texture and uses crushed wafers as the base. The filling is a “joyful marriage” of white chocolate, sweetened chestnut purée, ricotta, cream, and orange juice. The cake is topped with rosettes of whipped cream and candied chestnuts. Photo courtesy of Zinnur.

Quinces w Rosemary & Pinenut Topping is another inventive yet easy-to-make recipe from Ilva in Italy (Lucullian Delights). Using gorgeous seasonal produce, Ilva makes this individualised version of fruit crumble. Acacia honey is infused with fresh rosemary and pinenuts then smothered over poached quinces. This is baked in the oven surrounded by a stewing sauce of puréed quince, rum and lime juice. Photo courtesy of Ilva.

Fried Eggplant w Walnut & Mint Sauce took 15 minutes for Sher in the USA to whip up (What Did You Eat?). Her walnut sauce is easy to make and the flavours develop over time so it can be made a few days before needed it. Sher simply processed walnuts, garlic and bread crumbs with mint, spices, scallions, yoghurt and lemon juice. Since walnuts contain omega-3 oil the sauce has added health benefits and was poured over slices of fried eggplant. Photo courtesy of Sher.

Mint Quinoa w Cashews & Cranberries is a “terrific combination of textures and flavours” from Genie in the USA (The Inadvertent Gardener). Quinoa (a pseudograin harvested for 6,000 years in the Andean region of South America for its edible seeds) is cooked with stock then mixed with dried cranberries, pieces of toasted cashew nuts and minced mint leaves. Genie was very pleased with this dish and promised that it would make it to her table again. Photo courtesy of Genie.

Spiced Nut Teacake became an addiction for Haalo in Australia (Cook (almost) Anything At Least Once). Her delicious combination of pistachios, almonds and pinenuts are flavoured with sugar and cardamom, cinnamon and allspice for a crispy topping. The teacake itself is very light, but the delicious spice nuts seduced Haalo into making double batches of her “spicy, sweet, nutty nirvana”. Photo courtesy of Haalo.

Add your own recipe!
If you want to link in your own nut recipe and share the love around, just leave the link in the comments section. You didn’t have to invent the recipe yourself, just make it and post it on your site. The whole idea of Recipe Carousel is that good recipes are shared with people who love to cook.
Note: Usual comments are more than welcome but all html links must be recipe related (yours or others).

Check out other Recipe Carousel themes: milkshakes, rice, festive food, legumes/pulses, eggs, pancakes, breakfast, raw food, berries, dips, cocktails, pasta, yoghurt, crispy snacks, vegetable desserts, fruit in savoury food, made from scratch, strawberries, jam, bread, seafood mains, ice cream, soup, chocolate and drinks.

Tags: morsels and musings food blog food and drink australia recipes recipe carousel nuts cashews walnuts peanuts pinenuts chestnuts snack recipes dessert recipes sauce recipes