MAKING NUT CRUMBLES

MAKING NUT CRUMBLES

Nut crumbles are a staple in my pantry. Years ago when developing the essence of a BLT (before meatless bacon was invented) I processed whole smoked almonds till mealy, then sprinkled them on a lettuce, tomato and veggie mayonnaise sandwich, followed by fresh cracked pepper to create a delicious BLT alternative.

Now I crumble many types of nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews, sunflower seeds etc., keeping them handy for when I want to sprinkle them on a sandwich, a salad, over pasta, mixed into rice dishes, stuffings, mixed with cookie dough or cake batter, or sprinkled over cereal.

Buy them when on sale, then experiment with your own uses.

Process 2 cups of nuts in food processor till evenly crumbly, then continue to process till the mealy crumbles start to clump together, meaning some of the oil is being released. Pack in jar to have ready when you want them.

You can process more than 2 cups, but less than 2 cups won’t process as evenly.

CRUSHING NUTS BY HAND

Not everybody has a food processor. Although there are times when a food processor is required to achieve a particularly fine grind, there are other times when hand-crushing the nuts will work for a particular recipe.

Take whatever nuts are called for in a recipe, place them in a small paper bag, smoothing the air out by pressing the bag flat against the nuts and rolling the top down.

Lay the bag of nuts on the counter top or board, then using the flat side of a hammer head, a rolling pin, or bottom of a heavy skillet pound the nuts through the bag till pulverized as desired.

If you think you might harm your counter top, then use the floor. The nuts are in the bag, so nothing gets contaminated.

Then empty the crushed nuts into the dish, and use as required.

Some of the oil from the nuts will seep into the bag, but that’s okay.