Nutty flavours add a toasty warmth to kitchen treats, both savoury and sweet
The hazelnuts clatter into the warm, shallow pan and I start to toast them over a low heat. The browning seems to take forever at first, but I resist turning up the heat and continue to watch carefully, shaking the pan from time to time. Precious, plump little nuts, hazelnuts are expensive, and I really mustn’t allow them to burn again. Like cooking chickpeas from scratch, I burn hazelnuts as regularly as day turns to night. The alternative is to roast them in the oven, but I would rather have them close at hand, where I can keep an eye on their progress from white to biscuit brown.
The skinned nuts are getting a toasting to intensify their flavour. The difference between a raw nut and one you have lovingly bronzed over a low heat is astonishing and even more so when coated in dark chocolate or ground for a biscuit or cookie, which is I what I am doing today. The cookies are a much-needed treat; a batch of tiny round discs sandwiched together with a buttercream made from a paste of the nuts and sugar. And before that, there are roasted autumn vegetables with a nutty flavoured dressing of tahini and yogurt.