According to psychologists, today is the worst day of the year. Well, I’ve decided to spice my day up a bit and will do everything in my power not to allow it to be my worst day of the year. I’m starting with a tasty snack to replace those biscuits that I used to eat.
This is my first experiment with roasting and flavouring nuts so I’m sure I can improve on it. I didn’t measure anything precisely so if you want to have a go you’ll have to experiment too.
You will need some nuts of course: almonds, walnuts, brazils, macadamias, pecan nuts or just a mixed bag. You can also add pumpkin, sesame or sunflower seeds (I didn’t this time because I thought they might cook much quicker than the larger nuts so want to try them separately).
- Preheat oven to 190 degrees centigrade, fan 170 degrees centigrade or gas mark 5.
- In a bowl, add some:
- soya sauce
- a good squeeze of lemon juice
- a pinch of cayenne pepper
- a pinch of paprika
- freshly ground black pepper
- a few drops of tabasco
- honey.
(I didn’t measure these accurately so you’ll have to estimate how much you need to match the quantity of nuts you’ll be coating).
Mix thoroughly then add the nuts and coat them.
n.b. They tasted very nice but I must have added too much honey because they were very sticky when done so feel free to leave this out or only put a small amount in.
- Spread them out into a single layer on a baking tray on some baking or greaseproof paper and place in preheated oven.
- Stir/toss every 2 to 3 minutes, until golden. The length of time obviously depends on your oven. The ones in the photo had 8 minutes in the oven but you can see some of them starting to burn so next time I’ll shorten the time. Whatever you do, once you’ve put them in the oven, do not leave the kitchen - they will very quickly burn!
- Once ready, remove from oven and allow to cool.
- Enjoy as a snack straight away or store in an airtight container.
Next time, I think I’ll try rosemary with it and miss out the honey.
Do you have any tasty blends that work well with nuts and seeds? If so, I’d love to hear them; please leave your comment below.
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
I like preparing a mixture of seeds on trays in the bottom of an oven on the lowest setting for ten minutes or so sprinkled and mixed well with Worcestershire sauce - very tasty, fewer calories and it keeps in glass jars for a very long time.
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Thank you Sarah, that sounds lovely, will give it a try this week. It’s good to have something that can be stored so I can make it in batches.
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