The house where I grew up was surrounded on three sides by woods. Not managed and coppiced woodland but a wild tangle of elder, brambles and chestnut. Above all there were hazels, their leaves acid bright in spring and in autumn fat clusters of nuts in frilly husks (involucre) to collect. Squirrels were fewer back then – at least you stood a chance of getting to the nuts before they did. This was, of course, in the days when we just “picked stuff” rather than “foraged”. We picked them in early autumn, and stored those we didn’t immediately wolf in Kilner jars in the pantry.
The nut trees I planted 40 years later, in my London garden, produced nothing but food for the local grey squirrels. I barely got my hands on a single cob. I ripped them out and used the space for a greengage tree.
I use nuts for their flavour and, just as importantly, for the texture they introduce to a recipe. Crunchy flaked almonds, toasted until golden, in a fry-up of chorizo and squid; hazelnuts, ground coarsely, to add texture to tiny, sweet fig cakes or walnuts toasted lightly and crushed to rubble in the first roasted parsnips of the season. (We later ate them with chicory, conference pears and smoked mackerel as a salad.)
Most nuts taste better roasted (I prefer pistachios straight from the shell and cobnuts directly from their husks). Walnuts do not like being toasted further than the palest hue, while almonds need to be constantly swished around the pan if they are not to burn. Cashews are the very devil to get evenly toasted and are better roasted with a little oil and salt. Hazelnuts, as in the friands that follow, keep the crumb moist while toasting deepens their flavour three-fold.
But the best dish on my table this week has been one of sizzling seafood and seasoned pork, crackling with toasted almonds. It’s something I will certainly be doing again.
Squid and chorizo, almond picada
Serves 3-4
squid 500g, prepared
chorizo 200g, mild or dulce
plum tomatoes 250g
cherry tomatoes 150g
garlic 2 cloves
For the picada:
almonds 50g, flaked
lemon 1
parsley 2 tbsp, chopped
dill 3 tbsp, chopped
Check the squid thoroughly, rinsing away any ink or debris. Remove the tentacles and set aside. Slit open the body sack, flatten it, and cut into squares roughly 4cm on all sides. Dry the squid briefly on kitchen paper.
Slice the chorizo into 1cm rounds. Cut the plum tomatoes into 2cm dice, cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters then set both aside in a small bowl. Peel and finely slice the garlic.
In a dry, shallow pan, toast the flaked almonds, tossing them gently, until pale gold. Then roughly chop them, or crush them in your hands.
Remove the zest from the lemon and add to the almonds then the chopped parsley and dill. Toss the ingredients together and set aside.
Place a shallow pan over a moderate heat, add the sliced chorizo and fry briefly until its fat has melted and the slices of sausage are sizzling. Pour off half the fat, return the pan to the heat and add the garlic. Let the garlic cook for a minute or two until it starts to colour, then turn the heat up and add the squid and tentacles. Let it cook for 2-3 minutes until golden.
Add the chopped tomatoes, and let them cook for a minute or two only, moving everything around the pan regularly so nothing burns. Transfer the squid to a serving dish or warm plates, then scatter the picada on top.
Brown butter and fig friands
The watchpoint here is the browning of the butter. You need to let the butter colour to a rich hazelnut brown, but stop before it burns. Keep a careful eye on it. If there are any dark speckles, then pour the butter through a fine sieve.
Makes 12
butter 180g
plain flour 50g
icing sugar 180g
hazelnuts 100g, skinned
lemon zest 1 tsp
egg whites 5
figs 3, ripe
Set the oven at 200/gas mark 6. Lightly butter 12 shallow bun tins. Melt the butter in a small pan over a moderate heat. Watch carefully as the butter first froths and then calms down and starts to turn deep gold. Once the butter becomes walnut coloured and smells nutty and toasted, remove immediately from the heat and set aside.
In a shallow pan over a moderate heat, toast the hazelnuts until they are golden. Moving them regularly around the pan will help them brown evenly. Tip them into a food processor and process to fine crumbs. They should be slightly less fine than commercial ground almonds.
Sift the flour and icing sugar into a large mixing basin then stir in all but 1 tbsp of the ground hazelnuts. Stir in the lemon zest. Remove the hard stalks from the figs then cut each fig in half from stalk to base and then into 6. In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they reach a soft, sloppy foam.
Make a deep well in the dry ingredients, then pour in the whipped egg whites, together with the melted butter. Combine the ingredients lightly but thoroughly, then pour into the buttered tins. Place a couple of pieces of fig into each of the tins then scatter the reserved ground almonds over the top.
Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden brown. The surface should be lightly crunchy. Remove from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes before sliding a palette knife around the edge and teasing them out of their tins.
Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @NigelSlater
