How to turn stale nuts into a tasty snack - recipe

Last summer, we made baklava for 100 people at a wedding, but somehow misjudged the amount of nuts we needed and were left with a mountain of pistachios and walnuts. Although it’s unlikely you’ll have quite the quantity we had, a pack of nuts is easily forgotten, left to go stale at the back of the larder.

Stale nuts are totally fine to eat, of course, but they do need to be processed to make them delicious again. Just toasting them in a dry pan or oven should be enough to revive them, but they’ll also go in any recipe that requires nuts. We got through most of ours by toasting them with spices, to eat as nibbles or to add crunch to soups, stews and salads.

I also made a vivid green marzipan with some of the pistachios. To make marzipan with any nut, blend them to a fine powder, then blend in three-quarters of their weight in icing sugar with a splash of water, until the mix comes together into a ball. It keeps in the fridge indefinitely.

Spiced nuts

The simplest way to revive a stale nut is by dry roasting or toasting it in a pan over a medium heat. However, adding a touch of oil, salt (if using unsalted nuts), some spices and sweetener will create an incredibly addictive snack out of an ingredient that would otherwise be good for nothing except feeding to the birds.

Nuts
A dash of oil (optional)
Sea salt (optional)
Spices (smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, ginger, cinnamon, etc (optional), or
Sweetener: maple syrup, honey, agave, etc (optional)

Heat a heavy-based pan over a medium heat. Toast the nuts for five minutes, or until they begin to colour. At this point, you can stop and serve them as they are, or you can flavour them with a variety of toppings. Just a pinch of sea salt will often satisfy, but if you’d like to add spices, do so now with a glug of oil: any spice will do, so take your pick from smoked paprika, cumin, cayenne, etc.

If you want to sweeten them instead, top with a drizzle of maple syrup or honey and let it bubble up and caramelise around the nuts, stirring all the while, then remove from the pan and serve.