Walnut Snacks
Toast on a baking sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees) or use microwave (we zap a large bowl of them for 6 minutes, but suggest you experiment for yourself). Walnuts can also be toasted in a dry skillet or sautéed with butter and sugar (or Cayenne). We leave ours out in a big bowl on the breakfast table to add to cereal, salads, or for snacking.
Red Pepper and Walnut Dip – “Muhammara”
1 15-ounce jar roasted red bell peppers
1 cup coarsely ground shelled walnuts
3 tablespoons bread crumbs
Juice of 1 lemon
4 teaspoons pomegranate molasses (available at Middle Eastern grocers)
1/4 teaspoon red chili paste, or more to taste salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon olive oil
Combine the walnuts and bread crumbs in a food processor and process until finely ground. Add the bell peppers, lemon juice and pomegranate molasses and blend until creamy. Add the chili paste to taste, adjust the seasoning. Chill overnight to allow the flavors to mellow.
Easy and Durable Basil-Walnut Pesto
Place one cup of walnuts, 1 minced garlic clove and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt in your food processor and grind till nuts are grainy. Add three cups of fresh basil leaves (till it fills your container), drizzle 1/4 to 1/2 cup of finest quality olive oil over the top, then grind till you have a serviceable, coarse paste. (I often make extra to store in zip-lock plastic bags that I flatten into "bricks" and stack in my freezer. Keeps for months without losing flavor.)
Quick Cucumber Walnut Soup
4 Cucumbers, peeled and sliced
(1/2 Bunch of Parsley optional)
1/2 Bunch fresh mint
(1 Bunch of chopped scallions-optional)
1/2 Small onion, peeled and sliced
1/3 Cup of champagne vinegar (white vinegar fine)
6 Ounces of plain yogurt
1 Cup toasted walnuts
1 Cup of canned chicken broth
Combine and blend in food processor. Salt and pepper to taste. Serve chilled.
For Nutritious "Bulgarian Cucumber Soup with Walnuts" Click here.
Henderson--Inspired Walnutted Wild Rice
1 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 cup wild rice
1 cup of brown rice
4 2/3 cups of chicken broth
3/4 stick or less of unsalted butter
1 cup of walnut halves salt, pepper and parsley to taste
Simmer raisins in sherry for about 5 minutes and set aside. Cook the wild rice with two tablespoons of butter and 2 cups of chicken broth over the top of a double boiler for about one hour. Cook brown rice in remaining chicken stock with 2 tablespoons of butter by heating to boiling point and then reducing heat to low until all liquid absorbed in about 50 minutes. Saute the walnuts in remaining butter. Combine all and season to taste. Enough for 8-10.
For Salads
Marinate chopped onions in equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar, add salt, pepper and a handful of walnuts. Mix with salad of choice (endive, arugula, lettuce, sliced pears, or when you can find it, Miner's Lettuce*). Great with goat cheese.
*Miner's Lettuce is one of the few wild North American plants exported to Europe!
With Fruit
Walnuts are wonderful with prunes and cheese as hors d'oeuvres. We serve as a dessert with home-made fig preserves or stewed pear, or after dinner with fresh fruit.
Walnut-Pie-in-A-Hurry
(ideal for the desperate since pie takes under 15 minutes to prepare followed by 50-60 minutes to bake.)
2 tbspns melted butter
1 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 cup light Karo corn syrup
3 slightly beaten eggs
1 tspn vanilla
2 cups walnut halves
Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter in the microwave, stir in the sugar, add the corn syrup, beaten eggs, vanilla and walnut halves then pour mixture into a 9” Pilsbury frozen pie crust (smush and fold edges inward for labor-intensive home-made look!). Place pie pan in oven atop a cookie sheet for 50-60 mins, until ever so crusty brown on top and toothpick comes out clean. Provided you get the cooking time right (can be runny if not cooked enough, too hard if cooked too long), recipe is foolproof.
Lupe's Nutted Brussels Sprouts
Find the freshest of these little cabbages you can, the smaller, the better. Remove from the stalk, slice off the ends and boil 8-10 minutes until cooked but still firm. Arrange on an oven-proof platter, sprinkle with grated cheese (Sonoma jack; gouda; gruyere -- your choice) and chopped walnuts and bake at 350 degrees until the cheese is melted and served.
Gremolata
For extra taste and crunch, add chopped walnuts to lemon zest and minced garlic and parsley gremolata that you sprinkle on top ofbraised lamb shanks or veal dishes! If you are in a hurry, just mix chopped walnuts and parsley, and ready to go as in photo below.