Nuts in Armour

The following recipe was found in the cookbook Accept with Pleasure.

Nuts in Armour

Take two cups of blanched nuts. Almonds, cashew nuts, pecans and hazelnuts are all suitable – you can mix them or use any variety on its own.

Place the nuts in a warm oven (180C/350F) and stir them frequently until they are golden and crisp. While this is going on you can be making the covering mix for them.

Into one white of egg, stiffly beaten, fold half a teaspoon of salt, a quarter of a teaspoon cayenne pepper, half a teaspoon of ground ginger, a dash of tabasco sauce and a dessertspoon of soy sauce.

Roll the hot nuts in this mixture and return to a slow (120C/250F) oven to dry out thoroughly – about three quarters of an hour.

When the nuts are absolutely dry rub them between the hands to separate them and then store in a completely airtight jar.

(Illustration by Claire Simpson)

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Or you can do what I did and just make a small amount and then eat them!

I didn’t have all the ingredients so I just added salt, chilli powder and soy sauce to the egg white. That was yummy. I agree with the author this is an easy and small teaser to enjoy with your drinks before the start of a meal.

If you haven’t blanched almonds before I recommend it as a fun afternoon activity. You just need to chuck them in boiling water for 2-3 minutes, rinse in cold and then squeeze the almonds out of the shells. The best bit is trying to catch the nut as they slip out and bounce along the counter.