Home › Unusual Recipes › Roasted Nuts
Roasted Nuts
This is the best way to salt walnuts, pecans, filberts and Brazil nuts. Crack the nuts, scald the meats and drain. Rub the coating off. Pour enough Mazola in a good-sized baking pan to almost cover the bottom, sprinkle the nut meats in, thickly dust with salt and "roast" in a hot oven, 375 degrees F., turning occasionally until they are golden brown-about twenty minutes. Drain on crumpled paper and dust with salt.
A straightforward oven-fried salted nut, written when salted nuts were a dinner-party staple rather than a bagged snack. Two things need attention: the blanching step and the timing.
- MazolaA corn oil brand, still sold. Any neutral oil with a decent smoke point works the same way — corn, peanut or sunflower.
- FilbertsHazelnuts. The two names have been used interchangeably in American cookbooks for well over a century.
- Scald the meatsCover the shelled nuts with boiling water for a minute or so, then drain. This loosens the papery skins so they rub off between a towel; it matters most for almonds, hazelnuts and Brazil nuts, less for pecans and walnuts.
- Dry them firstThe recipe does not say so, but blanched nuts must be patted thoroughly dry before they meet hot oil, or they will steam and spit rather than brown.
- The oven375/gives the figure as 375°F, which the recipe itself glosses as "a hot oven." No conversion needed.