One of the most evocative holiday smells for me is these herb-roasted nuts. It scents the house wonderfully for days, with its combination of nuts, herbs, and sweet maple syrup. Chopping all of those herbs can be a bit of a chore, but I love their scent on my hands afterwards, so that's not so bad!
This recipe is based on one from a Sunset Thanksgiving issue some years ago, and later reprinted in the Winter 2001 Sunset Holiday Entertaining.
If you can't find one or another of the herbs -- savory can be difficult -- use roughly equal measurements of the other herbs to total 9 teaspoons (3 tablespoons). You also may substitute 1/2 teaspoon of a dried herb for the 1 1/2 teaspoon of the fresh, but the taste will be noticeably different. Likewise, use any combination of nuts -- except perhaps peanuts, which can be rather overwhelming -- to total 5 cups.
My daughters love to run the herb sprigs in the spinner after I've rinsed them. It seems a bit easier to roughly chop the herbs and measure them, then turn them all back out onto the chopping board together and mince them finely.
Herb-Roasted Nuts
1 cup raw whole almonds
1 cup raw walnut halves
1 cup raw pecan halves
1 cup raw hazelnuts
1 cup raw cashews
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh oregano, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh sage, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh thyme, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh rosemary, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh savory, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh marjoram, chopped
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 300° F. Line a 10x15-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment.
Mix together the nuts in a large bowl. Combine the maple syrup, oil, and salt in a measuring cup, and pour over the nuts, and sprinkle the herbs over all, mixing well to coat the nuts evenly.
Spread the nuts in the prepared baking sheet, and bake, stirring every ten minutes or so, until the nuts are golden and fragrant, about 30 minutes. Do not allow to scorch. Remove the nuts from the pan while still warm, or they will stick.
Store airtight at room temperature for up to a week; freeze up to 1 month.
Makes 5 cups. Active work time time, about 15 minutes; total preparation time about 45 minutes.
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