Nuts in the Kitchen (23 page)

Walnut Coffee Tourte with Coffee Frosting

Makes one 9-inch (23-cm) round cake; 10 to 12 servings

I owe this recipe to Linda Dallas, an artist who lives in North Carolina and was one of my cooking students. She not only taught me the value of the catchall southern phrase “Bless her heart” but shared this recipe with me, after she’d entered it in a baking contest, where it won first prize. When you taste it, you will see why! It is mouthwateringly cozy yet very dressed up, the kind of cake Mom might have made when she was entertaining her friends for an afternoon bridge game and wanted to both satisfy and impress.

Despite the relative intensity of the coffee, a flavor sometimes too strong for a child’s palate, my kids, and every child I’ve fed this to, love this cake. They are attracted by its fancy style—three thin layers, tempting icing that gracefully garnishes the layers and the top, and golden walnut halves that finish it off. But they return for more because of its moistness and flavor.

This is a cake that will easily serve twelve. It also keeps well. I keep it on a plate at room temperature, with a bowl over it, for a week or more.

Note:
This cake is best if left to sit for several hours or overnight before serving. If you do refrigerate this cake, it will emerge somewhat drier than when it went in.

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter and flour three 9-inch (23-cm) round cake pans. Line the pans with parchment paper and butter and flour the parchment paper as well.

2.
Sift together the dry ingredients onto a piece of parchment paper.

3.
In a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk the butter and the sugar until they are pale yellow and light. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, whisking each time until the egg is thoroughly incorporated. Using a large spatula or wooden spoon, fold in the dry ingredients, then the walnuts. Finally, fold in the coffee and vanilla extract.

4.
Divide the batter equally among the three pans, smoothing out the batter. The pans will be less than half full, which is fine. Bake the cakes on the center rack of the oven until they are slightly puffed and your finger leaves a slight indentation on the top of the cake when you press it lightly, about 25 minutes. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and turn them out of the pans after they have cooled for 10 minutes.

5.
To make the frosting, in a medium bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk together the butter and confectioners’ sugar until they are pale yellow and light. Add the coffee and vanilla extract and whisk until the mixture is smooth, then whisk in the salt to taste.

6.
When the cakes are cooled thoroughly, place one on a serving platter. Top it with one-third of the frosting, then set the second cake on top and frost the top of it. Repeat with the remaining cake. Decorate with the toasted walnut halves and let sit for an hour or more before serving.

Nut Butter

Cumin Salt

Gomasio

Macadamia and Coconut Sprinkle

Sweet, Lemony Hazelnut Butter

Smoked Bacon, Scallion, and Pecan Butter

Poppy Seed Dressing

Almond Milk

Savory or Sweet Almond Sprinkle

Sweet Pie Pastry—Pâte Sucrée

Parmigiano-Reggiano Pastry

On Rue Tatin’s Tender Tart Pastry

Mint Oil

The Basics

B
asic recipes are the backbone of a cookbook, for without them many other recipes are often nothing more than empty shells. The basics can also be little jewels that shine on their own, to be made and kept on hand for those impromptu moments when you want a meal to appear as though it had been a long time in the planning when in fact it came together in haste.

Consider these basics a cooking class that arms you with the framework of many great meals. Let’s say you’ve just steamed some vegetables and a piece of fish. Shower the fish with
Macadamia and Coconut Sprinkle and toss the vegetables with Smoked Bacon, Scallion, and Pecan Butter. Voilà, a quick and well-seasoned meal is yours. You can liven up your breakfast with hazelnut butter—or any homemade nut butter—and flavor your next sauce with mint oil. With a handful of basics in your pantry, life and your meals will take on a new dimension.

Nut Butter

Makes 1 cup (250 ml) nut butter

Homemade nut butters are so fresh, so richly flavored and textured, that when you begin to make your own, you may never buy them again.

Use these nut butters to thicken soups and sauces, to slather on bread or toast, to put in a sandwich. They can be used anywhere you use peanut butter.

Note:
It takes almost 15 minutes for a food processor to turn warm, toasted nuts into fine, delicious nut butter. Don’t be tempted to add oil at any stage of the process, as nuts contain all the oil they need to make a beautiful butter.

1.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2.
Place the nuts in a baking pan and bake in the oven until they are golden and smell toasty, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and transfer the nuts directly to a food processor. Process the nuts until they turn to butter, which will take approximately 15 minutes. The nuts will go through several stages before they begin to turn to a puree and become oily. First they’ll be coarsely chopped, then more finely chopped, then minced, then they’ll take on a rough, dusty aspect. At this point you may think you need to add oil—don’t! Let the processor continue to run. The nuts will become finer and begin to turn oily.
Don’t turn off the food processor until you have a fine puree, a beautiful nut butter.

3.
Transfer the nut butter to a container. Don’t seal the container until the nut butter has completely cooled. Stored in an airtight glass jar, in the refrigerator, it will keep for about 2 weeks.

Cumin Salt

Makes 6 mounded tablespoons

I like to have seasoning mixtures like this on hand to dress up a meal. Cumin salt is a favorite because the intense flavor seems to enhance just about everything. I sprinkle it over freshly sliced cucumbers dressed with lemon oil, avocados drizzled with pistachio oil, fish fillets, eggplant, a potato gratin straight from the oven, or fresh chard sauteéd until tender.

Note:
This mixture doesn’t last forever, which is why I make it in small quantities. This way it is always fresh and sprightly with flavor.

I prefer to grind the cumin and the salt using a mortar and pestle, because it produces a mixture that is nicely combined but still has much of its delicate crunch. If you don’t have a mortar and pestle, do this in a coffee grinder used only for spices, but be gentle about it—you don’t want fine dust but a full-textured mixture.

1.
Place the cumin seeds in a small, heavy skillet over low heat and toast them until they turn golden and begin to emit a fragrant aroma, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove them from the heat and transfer them to a mortar or a spice or coffee grinder. Add the salt and grind the spices together until they are ground uniformly but coarsely. The mixture should be very “sprinkleable.”

2.
Store the cumin salt in an airtight container in your spice drawer or another dark, cool spot. It will keep for up to 3 months.

Gomasio

Makes about 2 cups (300 g)

Gomasio is a Japanese seasoning that goes in everything from soup to rice. Used heartily in the macrobiotic diet, it is a tasty addition to anyone’s diet. Simple to make, it keeps for a long while, thanks to the nature of the sesame seed, which is reluctant to oxidize and turn rancid.

Note:
My gomasio is quite salty—you can adjust according to your palate. Prepare for rave reviews for this seasoning! A special mortar with a ridged interior, called a
suribachi,
is made just for gomasio, and it works like a dream. If you don’t have one, use either a regular mortar and pestle or a food processor.

1.
Place the sesame seeds in a wok or other heavy pan over very low heat. If your flame won’t turn to very low, put a heat diffuser on it to reduce the heat. Toast the sesame seeds, stirring occasionally, until you begin to smell their toastiness and hear them pop. Stir so they all get their chance at contact with the pan (and even toasting), then turn them out onto a wood work surface or into a large bowl. Cool.

2.
When the sesame seeds are cool, grind them using a (suribachi) mortar and pestle or in a food processor, not too fine. You don’t want dust; you simply want to crack up the sesame seeds a bit so you can sprinkle the gomasio. Stir in the salt until thoroughly combined with the sesame seeds. Store in an airtight container, preferably one that is opaque. It doesn’t need to be refrigerated.

Macadamia and Coconut Sprinkle

Makes about 1
¹
/
₃
cups (180 g)

As I’ve worked on this book over the last couple of years, I have loved having all sorts of nut preparations in my pantry, ready to enliven everything from breakfast cereal to pasta. This particular combination is a lovely addition to both sweet and savory dishes. I prefer it atop the fish in the Marinated Fish with Sesame and Macadamias (Chapter Main Courses), but try it on breakfast cereal or hot oatmeal, atop pancakes or folded into their batter, on rice that is either sweet or savory, or by the spoonful when no one is looking.

Note:
The recipe calls for unsweetened coconut, which is essential. Presweetened coconut won’t work. Unsweetened coconut is available at health food and specialty stores.

1.
Place the macadamia nuts and coconut in a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook, shaking the pan often and stirring, until the coconut turns a nice, dusty golden brown, about 8 minutes. The nuts will also be perfectly toasted by then.

2.
Remove from the heat and let cool thoroughly. Either use immediately or store in an airtight container out of the light. In the refrigerator, it will keep for at least 2 weeks.

Sweet, Lemony Hazelnut Butter

Makes 1 cup (250 ml)

This spread is like peanut butter gone
way
uptown. I enjoy it most on freshly toasted bread in the morning, but you can also use it on crackers, between cookies (à la Oreo), or in a cake icing.

Note:
This will keep well for 1 month in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

1.
Place the sugar and lemon zest in a food processor and process until completely combined. The sugar will be just slightly damp from the oil in the zest.

2.
In a food processor, process the lemon sugar and the hazelnuts until the nuts are finely ground. Add the butter and lemon juice and continue processing until all of the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl or a glass jar. If not using immediately, refrigerate for up to 1 month, remembering to remove the hazelnut butter from the refrigerator at least 15 minutes before serving. Otherwise it can be difficult to spread.

Smoked Bacon, Scallion, and Pecan Butter

Makes 1½ cups (325 ml)

This gem is from Sue Raasch, who uses her own pecans—either native or papershells—for everything from soup to nuts. I love this particular recipe, which is so simple to put together and so great to have on hand. Use it on freshly steamed green beans, cauliflower, broccoli, or even turnips or Brussels sprouts. Try it on rice, grains, or grilled steak or fish, or tucked under the skin of poultry that you intend to roast. It enhances nearly everything!

Note:
You may use “pecan pieces,” which are broken pieces of pecan that have all the flavor of a good, whole pecan. They are often more reasonably priced than whole pecans. Whatever form you buy, make sure they are fresh and do not look brown or oily, and check the “sell by” date, too.

If you cannot find slab bacon, buy thick-sliced bacon. This butter will keep in the refrigerator for three to four days. Alternatively, you can freeze it.

1.
In a medium, heavy skillet over medium heat, fry the bacon until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let cool. Discard any fat given up by the bacon.

2.
Place the bacon with the scallions and pecans into a food processor and pulse until combined. Add the butter and continue to process until all the ingredients are well blended. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3.
To store any excess, shape the butter into a log, wrap in parchment paper or plastic wrap, and refrigerate for up to 1 week or freeze—preferably in portion sizes, so you can remove just one portion at a time—for up to 3 months.