I love making salads and it's just coming to that time of year where fresh produce will be ready.
This is probably one of my favorite tips that I will pass along, as who doesn't enjoy nuts on a salad.
But what really gets me is when you find a new recipe and at the end of the recipe it suggests that you add roasted nuts and it's just like one extra step to make, but you know that it's worth it.
So a few years back, I started to buy my nuts in bulk and about once or twice a year I take an hour or so and roast nuts on large cookie sheets, making a variety and packaging them in Ziploc bags and freezing them. They maintain their flavor and texture very well and you always have them available.
Slivered Almonds
- Preheat oven to 350°
- 3 cups (750 grams) of sliced almonds on a cookie sheet.
- Spread almonds evenly on a cookie sheet.
- Bake up to 15-20 minutes, checking and stirring every 3 minutes.
- At the end check more regularly till they are the desired color.
- Remove from oven and let them cool and then store in Ziploc bags and freeze.
Coconut
- Preheat oven to 325°
- 2 cups (500 grams) coconut flakes on a baking sheet.
- The flakes will toast very quickly (5-10 minutes)
- After a few minutes stir the coconut frequently.
- Sweetened flakes takes less time because the sugar speeds up the toasting process.
Sugared Almonds
- 2 cups whole almonds
- 2/3 cup sugar
- Place nuts and sugar into a frying pan on low heat, stirring constantly until sugar is melted and almonds are coated. (15 minutes)
- Place almond mixture on parchment paper and let cool.
- Once they are cooled you can either chop them into smaller pieces or leave them whole.
- Store in a container in the fridge or freezer.
This is one of my most favorite nut mixtures. But, you need to hide these, because they are like candy and very hard to keep around once my family knows they are in the fridge.
Toss your nuts on your favorite salad...
and remember how easy it is when you make them in advance.