The Heart Of The Matter: Spiced Walnuts

Two weeks ago Bob bought a huge sack of freshly harvested walnuts, and each day he patiently cracks and eats a handful of the nuts.  Primarily, he does it because they taste very good.   But along with their taste, he's aware that walnuts are one of the best foods a person can eat.  Nuts in general are now regarded as helping to reduce "bad" cholesterol, but walnuts also seem to have unique properties that protect blood vessels.  Research shows that walnuts reduce inflammation in the arteries after a high fat meal, and preserve the flexibility of blood vessels. The FDA has approved a "qualified health claim," that eating 1.5 ounces of walnuts per day may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease. It's not surprising that many heart specialists now eat a few walnuts each day.  With that in mind, when I saw that Ilva at Lucullian Delights and Joanna at Joanna's Food are hosting an event called Heart Of The Matter, Bob's huge bag of walnuts immediately came to mind.

Another thing that came to mind was Nigella Lawson's recipe for spiced nuts. Hers is made with mixed nuts, but I decided to just use walnuts. It would have been easy to buy shelled walnuts, but I decided to shell my own. Walnuts aren't that hard to crack, but it does take time and I gained an appreciation for the hard work that squirrels put in to crack nuts with their teeth.  In fact, squirrels can pick up a nut and tell if it's good or bad, just by the weight of it. They reject that nut and pick another to shell. I wished I had that ability after cracking several duds.  But, it was worth the effort because these freshly harvested nuts were far superior to those sold in the store.

I adapted this recipe by substituting olive oil for the melted butter Nigella calls for in her recipe. I also reduced the sugar by half and the salt from 2 teaspoons to 1/4.  The finished nuts were so good, it was hard to limit myself to a small amount.  I did, which is the thing I'm trying to achieve in my diet--portion control.  I loved these nuts and will make them for any parties I give. I also intend to make them as gifts for people at Christmas. Try them. But, they are addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you!!

Spiced Walnuts

(Adapted from Nigella Lawson)

ingredients:

2 cups walnuts
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp dark brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Spread nuts out on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven till they become light golden brown, about 10 minutes.
In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and oil. Thoroughly toss the warm toasted nuts with the spices and oil and serve warm.

Comments

[s'kat]

Mmm, I love spiced nuts, and can only imagine how much better these were for being so fresh! Also, I completely envy your self-restraint. When it comes to nuts and seeds, I can't stop at just a few!

[ilva]

Oh Sher! This is perfect, I'm really happy you decided to join in and walnuts are sgreat favourites of mine!

[Butta Buns]

A healthy snack plus you have two squirel boarders to help open the nuts. Brilliant!

[kalyn]

Great entry and so yummy sounding. Your pictures are just getting better and better.

[Ros]

Good. Now I feel marginally less bad for eating 100g of these in one go last week. I love the sound of this recipe. If only walnuts lasted long enough in my flat for me to do this!

[Anne]

I have never thought of spicing walnuts, the recipe sounds really tasty and healthy too. It's very helpful to have all the info that goes with it.
Anne

[Tanna]

Wow! That is perfect for the event. Love your adaptations, olive oil and less salt! Spiced nuts are so good. Must try these.

[kristi]

I had no idea walnuts were that healthy for you. Thanks for sharing those facts, and yum! Gorgeous photography, as always.

[Joanna]

These sound great - do you think they'd be as good without the sugar? Or not? I've still got the very last of the Christmas nuts sitting in my kitchen, so this is perfect - thanks

Joanna
joannasfood.blogspot.com

[Callipygia]

I love how beautiful walnuts become when toasted, the spices sound so good. A truly dangerous recipe.

[kate]

a while ago during the Chinese new year i received 2 boxes of whole walnuts.Just love them when they are like that.Cracking each piece however slows down the speed of how many walnuts u consume while watching the tele.... and that is very good for me cuz no matter how healthy they are ...they are also rich in calories ! Love the spiced walnut recipe.

[Glenna]

That look fabulous! I want some right now. Excellent recipe,Sher. I'll be using that soon to get Gene to eat more walnuts.

[Jennifer]

Ohhh yum! I have to try this someday! I love walnuts and I have had some cumin spiced walnuts in the past and those were to die for...but cayenne? Yowza! Yummay!

[Christine]

These sound wonderful. I love spiced nuts, especially walnuts. Bee-U-ti-ful photos, btw. :))

[Alisha]

Walnuts? Rosemary? Yum! I think walnuts are going on my next shopping list.

[Anh]

I love walnuts, and your version looks delicious!

[Patricia Scarpin]

Oh, boy, do I love spiced nuts or what??

I have never made it at home, though. Your pictures are tempting, Sher. ;)

[Willa]

Yum- I'll be making those for sure. I'm a pecan person myself, and I made some pretty tasty spiced pecans around Christmas, but they didn't have the zing I bet yours do. And the thought of those cumin spiced nuts that Jennifer mentions are really intriguing. I wonder if they were sweet as well.

Do you suppose black walnuts have the same health benefits as English walnuts? I think they are pretty nasty, but my husband adores black walnuts. Maybe spicing them would make them less disgusting.

Willa

[melissa]

oh---they look so yummy!

[Burcu]

I had tasted spiced walnuts a while ago and loved them. Thanks so much, Sher!!

[Julie]

You've inspired me, both with the reminder that walnuts are good for you and how delicious this sounds. I'm going to pick up some walnuts today.

Sounds like a great snack for when I hit that tired spot in the middle of the afternoon.

[Katie]

Great recipe! And all that lovely health info makes me want to go down and start cracking nuts!
We have a tree and a huge basket of nuts that I'm slowly working through.
If I use this recipe maybe I can get mon mari to do the cracking....hmmmm....

[sandi @ the whistlestop cafe]

I wonder if this would work as well with pecans as it did with your walnuts.
Pecans are easier to find here. In fact, You can just pick them up off the ground (if you want to shell them all!)

[Helene]

Never thought of it. so thanks, you made my day!! :)

[Kayton]

where do walnut trees grow? I sure would like my own tree.