How To make Spicy Orange Nuts

Spicy Citrus Candied Pecans Recipe - Candied Nuts

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I adapted another recipe for candied pecans which called for orange zest and juice. I don’t typically have oranges around, but I do grow calamondins because the tree is such a trooper. I’ve had a calamondin tree growing in a very large pot for years now. Here in Canada, it comes inside in the winter and becomes a bit sad. But it bears fruit a few times a year. Its fruit is delicious, smells quite reminiscent of orange, and the juice is sour to bland, with a little sweetness but not as much as an orange. The skin is very thin and may be used directly (minced) wherever zest is called for. Overall, a very useful tree to have around, and I find myself using calamondins and their juice in place of lemon or orange zest all the time. It definitely imparts its own flavor, but that’s not a bad thing, as anyone who’s enjoyed calamondins before will know.

Of course, if you don’t have or can’t get calamondins, then use orange zest for this recipe. It will also be delicious.

Be sure to let the pecans toast for long enough in the hot sugar. In the video I undercooked mine slightly, so they are not especially toasty but they still taste good. Cooking them for longer would have ensured a hard, crackly sugar coating as well as toastier pecans.

Makes about 2 cups of candied pecans.

Equipment:
• nonstick skillet
• lined sheetpan for cooling candied pecans
• spice grinder if using whole spices

Ingredients:
2 cup pecan halves About 6oz
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp black peppercorns
1/4 tsp cayenne or one whole dried bird’s eye or arbol chile
1/2 tsp cinnamon ground
1/4 tsp salt
1-2 Tbsp liquid water and/or juice (orange or calamansi)
1/2 tsp zest really ‘to taste’; use as much of one orange’s zest as you like

Procedure:
1. Assemble and grind all the whole spices.
2. Combine ground spices, salt, sugar, liquid and zest in the skillet over medium heat, to melt the sugar and caramelize it.
3. Once all the water has been driven out and the sugar has caramelized, add the pecan halves and cook carefully to allow the nuts to toast. Use of an instant-read IR thermometer might be helpful to note when the sugar gets to the “hard crack” stage, which guarantees the shiny, crackliness of the finished product.
4. Toast the nuts to your satisfaction in the hot sugar, then pour them out onto a lined sheetpan to cool completely. It’s also best to separate all the nut pieces from each other so that they do not stick together in one lump.
5. Once the nuts are completely cool, place them in an airtight container in a cool (not refrigerated) dry place and use them within 3 months or so. Under muggy conditions the sugar may start to get tacky, etc, so use them up.

Music:

Spiced Nuts & Marinated Olives Recipe - Food Gifts

When people think of food gifts they usually think of sweet treats... But we think these savoury snacks make the perfect present!

A combination of some spicy sticky nuts and our take on some marinated olives both look and taste great.

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