cooking with nuts
Chicken and Cashew Nut Stir Fry
I always have a bottle of soy and oyster sauce in my cupboard ready to add to my stir fries. This nutty one is my favourite.
Serves 4
• 1 tbsp sesame oil
• 3 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 450g chicken breast meat, sliced into thin slithers
• 6 spring onions, chopped
• 2 dark green cabbage leaves, shredded into thin strips
• 50g raw unsalted cashew nuts
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp oyster sauce
• 4 tbsp water
1. Heat a wok or large frying pan and add the two oils and garlic.
2. When the wok is hot and the garlic begins to fry add the chicken breasts and fry until it changes colour all over.
3. Add the spring onions and cabbage leaves and fry for a few minutes stirring continuously. 4. Add the cashew nuts and mix in the sauces and water. 5. Cook for a minute or two and serve with noodles.
Nutty Shortbread
This recipe is based on one I found by Yotam Ottolenghi. I have adapted it to our taste, but I highly recommend you take a look at his wonderful book.
Makes 12- 15 biscuits
• 3-4 cardamom pods
• 200g butter, at room temperature
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 240g plain flour
• 25g ground almonds
• 60g pistachios, shelled
• 2 tbsp milk
1. Preheat the oven to 150 ° C / Gas 2. Line a large baking sheet with greaseproof paper and oil.
2. Remove the seeds from the cardamom pods and grind to a powder. Grind the pistachios until they are still fairly course. They are going to coat the outside of the biscuits.
3. Place the butter, sugar, flour, almonds and cardamom powder in a mixing bowl or food processor. Either mix with a hand mixer or whiz in the food processor until well combined.
4. Bring the dough together with your hands and form into a sausage shape about 5cm in diameter and about 32cm long.
5. Cut a piece of cling film large enough to hold the dough sausage with extra to seal the ends.
6. Sprinkle the pistachios evenly on the cling film.
7. Paint the upper half of the sausage with milk and roll into the pistachios.
8. Paint the other side with the milk and roll the sausage over so it is coated with the nuts.
9. Press gently with your hands to firm in the nuts.
10. Roll the sausage in the cling film and twist the ends to seal.
11. Place in the fridge for 30 minutes. This firms up the dough and makes it easier to cut.
12. Unwrap the dough and cut, using a serrated knife, into about 15 slices.
13. Place on the baking tray gently pressing down to flatten a little. Leave a small space between each one and bake for 15-20 minutes.
Variations
Rather than the nuts, replace with 80g pecans. Grind 20g finely and add to the dough before mixing. Grind the rest of the nuts and coat the outside as per the recipes.
Replace the nuts with 25g dark chocolate chips to the dough mixture. Grind 60g hazelnuts coarsely and coat the outside as before.
Omit the pistachios and cardamom pods and add 30g chopped cherries and half teaspoon almond extract to the dough mixture. Roll in 60g of coarsely ground almonds.