COOKING

There are so many kinds of nuts with so many different sizes, flavors and shapes that it is quite surprising that they could all be classified as nuts. Some of them are fruits while some of them are seeds, and peanuts, for instance, aren’t even nuts at all but legumes that grow underground!

In technical terms, a nut is a one-celled fruit encased in a dry shell. Acorns, chestnuts and hazelnuts are considered to be true nuts. The term "nut" is also loosely applied to seeds or edible fruit kernels that are enclosed in a hard shell such as almonds and cashews.

Nuts have been used as a source of food and oil for centuries. As early as 200 B.C., the Romans distributed sugar-coated almonds on very special occasions. Almonds and pistachios are used extensively in the cuisines of the Middle East, both in savory sauces as well as in many desserts such as baklava. Peanuts and cashews are often used in stir-fries throughout the Far East. In Africa, ground nuts are a staple, and in Europe you will find hazelnuts and almonds used in many spectacular desserts and candies.

Nuts are delicious in savory dishes such as spicy curries and chilies, as well as in sweet dishes, tasting wonderful with cinnamon, honey and chocolate, and their rich, buttery flavor is enhanced by toasting. Always toast nuts before adding them to nut breads, cookies or muffins for added flavor.

To toast nuts, place them on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 350°F. For walnuts and most other nuts, toast until light golden (generally you will begin to smell their wonderful aroma when they are done!). Check after five minutes. Most nuts need about eight to ten minutes for good flavor. Remove from the oven and tip the nuts off the cookie sheet to a plate to cool. Toasted nuts can be frozen and will retain their toasted flavor for about one month.

Even though primitive people made use of whatever nuts they found in their region and often went to a great deal of trouble to make their bitter-tasting nuts (such as beechnuts) palatable, today we are most interested in the nuts that taste good, such as almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, coconuts, hazelnuts (also known as filberts), macadamias, pecans, pine nuts (pignolias), pistachios and walnuts (black as well as English).

Nuts are very versatile and adapt equally well to being dredged in salt and hot spices, or simply dipped whole in chocolate. They are served whole, slivered, sliced, ground and chopped; roasted or toasted; blanched or plain; made into flour or nut butters, and some, such as pistachios, hazelnuts and walnuts are even pressed into fragrant oils which is another subject altogether...

The almond tree, a native of the eastern Mediterranean region, is related to the peach tree and has been cultivated from very early times. Unlike the peach, with its soft and juicy flesh, the flesh of the almond is dry and leathery.

Over a hundred varieties, imported and new, are grown in California. Non-pareil is the best all-around variety. The bitter almond tree is often used as a stock on which sweet almond and other fruits are grafted.

There are two types of almonds, sweet and bitter, and the latter is often confused with apricot kernels. Often called Chinese almonds, apricot kernels have a flavor remarkably similar to sweet almonds and they are used to flavor many products such as almond extract and almond-flavored liqueurs. When raw, these can be toxic in large quantities and must be blanched or roasted beforehand.

Sweet almonds are used whole or ground in cakes, pastries, pralines, fillings, and nougat. They also appear in many savory dishes, especially those with chicken, fish and rice.

Not actually nuts, these seeds come from the tropical rain forests of Brazil. Brazil nuts come in clusters of 8 to 24 inside a hard pod that resembles a small coconut. A Brazil nut shell is extraordinarily hard. To temper the shells so they are easier to crack, bake the nuts at 400°F for 15 minutes. Cool, then crack.

They can be roasted and salted, or ground or chipped to enrich cookies or pastries of various kinds, or added to favorite stuffings to give a little crunch. Brazil nuts have a very high oil content, which gives a richness to their slightly sweet flavor but also limits storage time.

The cashew tree is native to South America, but it now flourishes in many parts of India around the African coasts and Southeast Asia. The tree belongs to the same family as the mango and pistachio.

Good cashews are white, plump and sweet. The best-quality nuts are sold whole or as halves; they are rather brittle with a "short" texture, unlike that of other nuts. Roasted, salted cashews are a popular snack food. In cooking, whole cashews are much used in the cooking of South India and Chinese stir-fries, and ground cashews are often used to thicken curries.

Sweet chestnuts have been cultivated in southern Europe for several thousand years. Today they are particularly grown in France (around the Massif Central), Italy, Spain and Portugal. Chestnuts must be cooked to be edible.

In the U.S. and Britain, chestnuts are mostly eaten roasted in the husk, or used for stuffing the Christmas turkey. Roasting may be done in a hot oven, but the flavor is much better if they are roasted very quickly and "shown the fire." One can buy special pans for roasting chestnuts over the flames. To roast, slash an X on the flat side of each nut, being sure to cut through the skin. Bake in a single layer at 425°F for 10 to 15 minutes (for peeling only), or for 15 to 25 minutes to cook the chestnuts under tender. Stir the nuts occasionally during the roasting time. Always peel chestnuts while they are warm.

Available in jars and preserved in sugar, chestnuts are called marrons glaces, available in cans. Unsweetened chestnut puree is called puree marrons and, pureed with sugar, it becomes creme de marrons.

The fruit of the coconut palm, the coconut is a most valuable product of the tropics and is used extensively in cake-making and confectionery.

A good coconut is heavy and you should be able to hear the juice when the nut is shaken. To open a coconut, pierce two of the eyes with a skewer. Drain the liquid into a glass, crack open the shell and pry the meat away from the shell.

To help release the meat from the shell more easily, place the coconut in a 350°F oven for 20 minutes. After the thin, brown skin attached to the meat is removed with a knife the meat can be grated by hand or cut into pieces. A medium nut yields 3-4C of grated coconut.

Coconut milk, not to be confused with the juice of the nuts, is necessary for many Indian and Southeast Asian dishes. Boiling water is poured over grated fresh coconut and left to cool somewhat before the milk is squeezed out with the hands or in a cloth.

Coconuts also yield a valuable oil which has been used since ancient times for food; when refined, it is often used in the manufacture of margarines and vegetarian foods, and as a cooking oil.

Also called filberts or cobnuts, hazelnuts are small, round or oval golden-colored nuts covered with a brown papery skin, enclosed in a hard, dark-brown shell. Because the skin is slightly bitter, it is generally desirable to remove it before use. To do this, place the hazelnuts on a cookie sheet in a preheated 350°F oven for 15 minutes or until they turn dark and the skin splits slightly. Remove from the pan and place in a non-terrycloth tea towel. Let cool slightly then rub them to remove the majority of the skins.

The most important producers of hazelnuts are Italy, Spain, Turkey and France. Spain seems to make the most original use of nuts in their regional cooking as in the famous salsa romesco from Tarragona.

Hazelnuts are especially popular in the pastries of Switzerland and Austria (in which they are often mixed with almonds), less so in France. In Italy they appear in many versions of Italian nougat (torrone) and in the famous hazelnut spread of Turin (gianduia). Freshly ground hazelnuts are an excellent addition to cake or cookie doughs and they can be folded into meringues before baking.

A luxury nut native to the coastal forests of Queensland and New South Wales, the macadamia nut is now primarily cultivated in Hawaii. These small, round nuts have extremely hard shells and must undergo strenuous processing before they can be shelled, so they are most often available shelled at a high price.

They give a creamy-crunchy sweetness to numerous desserts and pastries.

Also called earth nut, monkey nut or groundnut, the peanut is not really a nut at all but a legume, and the nuts are the "peas" in the pod. It gets the name of groundnut because the plant pushes its pods into the earth, which must be loose enough for the "peg" to push into it; otherwise there will be no nuts. Ripe peanuts have to be dug out like potatoes.

The two most popular varieties of peanut are the small, round Spanish peanut and the larger and more oval Virginia peanut. In Europe and the U.S., peanuts make a valuable contribution to vegetarian diets. They are also sold on a large scale, roasted and salted. They are a staple food for millions of people in Africa and in the Far East.

A good half of the peanuts used in the United States goes into peanut butter. To make your own peanut butter, chop plain or dry roasted peanuts in a food processor until very finely ground. Add a little peanut oil, processing until the mixture reaches the desired consistency. (Peanut oil is also an invaluable kitchen aid.)

A thin-shelled oblong nut, smooth and reddish, the fruit of a species of hickory tree, the pecan grows in the southern states of the U.S. It has a rich, refined flavor and a very high fat content—higher than any other nut. The growing, harvesting, shelling and sorting of these nuts is a very lengthy and complicated process, which accounts for their high cost.

The use of pecans in cakes, pies, ice cream (butter pecan!) and candies is very much an American tradition (what would Thanksgiving be without pecan pie and loads of cream?). They are also used in stuffing for turkey and sometimes candied in salads.

Also called pignoli, pinon, pignon and Indian nuts, pine nuts are edible seeds that grow in the cones of various types of pines.. There are two main types of pine nuts: Chinese and Mediterranean. The Chinese nut is wider at one end and has a pungent flavor. The Mediterranean nut, which come from the stone pine, is long and slender with a more delicate flavor.

Both types are used in desserts and pastries, as well in savory dishes, to give texture to vegetables such as green beans, to give a little crunch to stuffings, or added to stews and braised dishes for flavor. They taste best toasted.

Native to the Middle East, the green pistachio nut is sold in its shell, or shelled and blanched. In Europe, pistachios are grown on trees in southern Italy and Sicily, as well as in Greece and, to a small extent, in France and Spain. Apart from being salted to eat by the handful, they are mainly used in cooking for their vibrant green color. They appear as a colorful addition to meat pâtés, stuffings and other charcuterie items. Chopped pistachios are essential in Middle Eastern rice dishes and in Greek, Turkish and Arabic pastries.

The shells of pistachio nuts are sometimes tinted red with vegetable dye. The nuts are available shelled and unshelled, raw, roasted, or roasted and salted. If using unshelled nuts, look for nuts with partially open shells. If the shell is closed, it indicates that the nutmeat is immature.

The walnut tree is native to Asia, but it now grows in Italy, North America and France. French walnuts, especially those that come from the Dordogne region in the Southwest, are considered to be the finest.

Of the many varieties of walnuts, the most popular are the English walnuts and black walnuts. English walnuts are widely grown, have a mild flavor and are the easiest to shell. Black walnuts have a richer, stronger flavor but are very difficult to shell.

The color of a walnut shell reflects its quality; the lighter the color, the higher the grade. Walnuts have a rich, buttery flavor that is enhanced by toasting. Ground, chopped or left whole, walnuts are widely used in pastry making as well as in many sauces from cuisines around the world. Walnuts also produce a flavorful and highly prized oil, which makes an excellent salad dressing.

To add flavor to baked goods like breads, cakes and cookies, substitute 1/3C finely ground nuts for 1/3C of the flour.

To add additional flavor and texture to pie crust, once the pie dough is in the pan and fluted, sprinkle the bottom and sides with about 1/4C finely chopped, toasted nuts and press them into the pie crust with your fingers before baking the crust.

As a general rule, 4 oz. of most nuts = 1C chopped nuts.

Once a bag of nuts has been opened, it should be stored in the freezer to prevent rancidity.

Though high in fat and calories, nuts reduce the risk of heart disease by lowering cholesterol—this by virtue of their high monounsaturated fat levels.

A handful of any shelled nuts contains about 170 calories

1-1/2C unbleached all-purpose flour

1/4C sugar

1/4 tsp. salt

1-1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/4" cubes

1-1/4C firmly packed light brown sugar

2/3C pure maple syrup

2 large eggs

1/2 stick unsalted butter, melted

2 tsp. vanilla

2C (8 oz.) pecan halves

whipped cream flavored with sugar and vanilla

mint sprigs

Preheat the oven to 350°F. For the crust: place the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and process to blend. Add the butter and process just until crumbly.

Spray a 9"-round springform pan, or fluted tart pan with a removable bottom, with PAM. Pat the crumbs into the bottom of the pan and 1/2" up the sides. Bake until the crust begins to color (about 20 minutes). Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before filling.

For the filling: mix the brown sugar, maple syrup, eggs, butter and vanilla in a food processor until smooth. Add the pecans and stir in with a spatula; do not pulse in. Pour the filling into the crust and bake until set (45 to 50 minutes). Cool about 10 minutes, remove the false bottom from the pan and cut into wedges. Serve warm with vanilla and sugar flavored whipped cream and garnish with mint sprigs.

MAKES: 8 servings

1 bag spring greens

2 Belgian endive spears, cut in julienne strips

2 oz. crumbled Maytag blue cheese

1/2C walnut halves

1C sifted powdered sugar

2C peanut oil

2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

1 Tbsp. sherry wine vinegar

2 tsp. hot and spicy mustard

salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

5 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Mix the vinaigrette ingredients together in a jar and shake well to combine. Combine the spring greens, Belgian endive spears and blue cheese together in a bowl.

To make the candied walnuts: Bring 2C of water to a boil and add the walnuts. Strain. Toss the warm nuts with powdered sugar and set on a rack. Heat the peanut oil, add the walnuts and cook until crisp. Do not burn! Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and pat away any excess oil. Transfer to a plate to cool completely.

Toss the greens mixture with vinaigrette to coat. Sprinkle in the nuts just before serving and toss well. Divide among 6 plates.

MAKES: 6 servings

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Tarla Fallgatter is a well-known Orange County caterer, chef, teacher, restaurant consultant and kitchen tool manufacturer. She trained at Paris’ Cordon Bleu, La Varenne, and Ecole Lenotre cooking schools, and was the first foreign woman to cook in the kitchens of Maxim’s. She has traveled to over 60 countries throughout the world, "sampling" the local cuisine. She markets her "Tarla" all-copper rolling pin in fine cookware shops.