Recipe: Candied Walnuts

Summary: Eat them as a snack, or use them in green salads to add texture and sweetness.

Ingredients

• 4 cups raw walnut halves, toasted and skins removed. 1 /4 cup extra-virgin olive oil. 1 /4 cup agave nectar. 1 /2 cup organic raw cane sugar.

Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine the walnuts with the olive oil and stir until thoroughly coated. Add the agave nectar and stir until thoroughly coated, then add the sugar and stir until thoroughly coated. Warm a large cast-iron skillet to medium high. Add the walnuts, scraping the bowl to remove everything, and stir constantly until the walnuts are fragrant and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 11/2 minutes. Transfer the walnuts to parchment paper and quickly spread out, separating them with two forks. Set aside to cool.

Diet type: Vegan

Number of servings (yield): 4

Meal type: snack

Culinary tradition: USA (General)

Rating:3.5 stars

Microformatting by hRecipe.

Candied Walnuts

While naturally sweet in flavor, walnuts have a bitter outer skin. So right before using them I remove it. First, preheat the oven to 350°F. Spread the walnuts on a large baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes, stirring halfway through the cooking. Remove from oven to cool. Transfer walnuts to a sieve and, holding the sieve over the sink, rub the walnuts against the wire until the skins loosen and fall off. Set aside to completely cool. While you will get the freshest most flavorful walnuts by purchasing them in the shell and cracking them before using, it can be time consuming. So I buy shelled, whole walnut halves and store them in the freezer.