Wednesday 18 February 2009

Spicy Nuts

Apparently I have been living under a rock. Apparently EVERYONE but me knew that the way to get a good crisp, spicy coating on nuts was to coat them in meringue first.

If this is so widely known, why has it taken so long for anyone to tell me?

Anyway. I shall put aside my bitterness.

A couple of nights a week I have a dance class and I don't get home until 9pm. I have a very low tolerance for being hungry. Being hungry makes me extremely cross and snappy. So I usually try to find a snack to eat on the train so that I can maintain some sort of positive outlook on society for long enough to get home to dinner. After spending a) quite a lot of money and b) eating a lot of unhealthy snacks, I decided that the best way would be to make something that I could take with me. So I turned to these spicy nuts that EVERYONE BUT ME knew about.

So, here we have:

Last One To Know Spicy Nuts

1 eggwhite
1 tbs muscovado sugar
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp crushed black pepper
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp crushed chilli
3 cups mixed nuts (I used mixed nuts and raisins, some blanched almonds that were lurking and some walnuts that were lurking)
1/2 cup flax seed
1/2 cup pumpkin seed

Whisk the eggwhite to stiff peaks. Mix in the sugar and other seasonings, then fold in the nuts and seeds. Spread in a single-ish layer on a silicon paper-lined baking sheet and roast on a low temperature for 10-15 minutes, keeping a close eye on things. Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight box.

16 comments:

HH said...

These sound great FC! I will have to give it a go. I am not sure if I knew this was the way or not, it may have been stored somewhere in the deep recesses, but in order to keep you honest, I will say I did know.

kat said...

Lol, sounds like me finding out egg white was the way to make seeds stay on my bread loaves too

Heather said...

these sound so good!! i love a good cocktail nut. yum :)

Bettina Douglas said...

I did see a recipe recently for a bar snack that used egg white, but no sugar. I thought it was on your blog?

Alicia Foodycat said...

HH - it would be kinder if you said you didn't, because then I couldn't accuse you of keeping it from me!

Kat - well I did know that one.

Heather - I like to think that the flaxseed makes them healthy.

Mother - not me, but LOADS of the American blogs were talking about this sort of snack before Christmas.

HH said...

Lol, alright FC, I didn't know.

Joie de vivre said...

I'm glad you are finally in our secret club!

MrOrph said...

Well, you aren't REALLY the last to know. I had no idea.

Alicia Foodycat said...

HH - thank you!

Joie - hmmm I knew it was a conspiracy!

Mr Orph - pleased to hear it!

Dee said...

No one told me either! I thought it was just an eggwhite wash that did the trick. Damn.

Just Cook It said...

I had no idea either. Awesome tip

mscrankypants said...

I am last to know -- I love spicy nuts and wasabi peas and crunchy, piquant thingies like that. Yummo.

Alicia Foodycat said...

Dee - i had heard about the eggwhite wash, but making a meringue works amazingly well.

Alex - give it a try! Very tasty.

Cranky - oh yes, wasabi peas! Actually, for my next batch I might use some wasabi paste...

Anonymous said...

You were not the last one to know! That was me! I love the name of your snack and the recipe looks great. One of these days, I shall have to try making some!

Vicci said...

"Being hungry makes me extremely cross and snappy."
I made DH read this---
hey, honey! It's not just me!!! Now, fork over that last half cupcake! :D

I didn't know about the beaten egg white trick either... these nuts look to be a perfect addition to a party I'm having at the end of the month. Thanks for posting!

Alicia Foodycat said...

Meryl - very pleased to hear that!

Vicci - wait until you see this week's spicy nut!

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