Nuts

Jamaica Observer Eating Well: Nuts

The edible kernels of so many of the nuts that Nature provides are munched in solitude while reading a good book, or in the company of others with cold beer and laughter before the main meal. But not often are nuts the main part of the main meal.

Cashew nuts, peanuts, walnuts, almonds, pecans, macadamia nuts, pine nuts, Brazil nuts, hazel nuts (also called filberts) are only a few of the nuts with culinary possibilities.

Called ground nuts, earth nuts or monkey nuts, peanuts are grown in nearly every hot country and used to provide oil or paste (butter) which are both used in cooking. Peanut butter on toast for breakfast or peanut butter sandwiches for lunch are staples for Western bachelors with limited cooking skills, but peanut butter also makes a delectable sauce for cooked vegetables (bean sprouts, shredded cabbage and green bean) that are often served with stir-fried beef strips in an Indonesian restaurant. There is also peanut butter in a mouth-watering Nigerian chicken stew.

Here is a breakfast treat: Walnut French Toast

Combine 1/3 cup milk, ¼ cup flour, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons brown rum, 1 teaspoon sugar and a pinch of salt in a blender. Pour the batter in a shallow dish, cover it and let it stand for 1 hour. Meanwhile, finely chop 1 ½ cups walnut and put them in another shallow dish. Remove the crusts from 6 slices of stale bread and cut them diagonally. Soak the bread on both sides in the batter and dip each side in the walnuts to coat them. Sauté the bread on both sides in clarified butter, in a skillet until golden. Transfer to paper towels to drain and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

The following sauce for your spaghetti makes a quick and easy supper. There is nothing to equal it. Again you will need the blender. Add 1 cup loosely packed basil leaves fresh, ½ cup pine nuts (walnuts substitute well), and 2 gloves garlic. Blend well; use a spatula to scrape down the sides and blend again. Add ¾ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese then add ½ cup olive oil while blending on low speed. Toss with pasta and serve with jerked sausages or jerked chicken and a green salad.

© Elizabeth North   24/01/1995