Walnut recipes/ideas

daisiegg

This may be a strange request, but I want ideas for cooking with/eating walnuts for someone who has never eaten nuts.

I have various food allergies and have always been told that includes all nuts. At my most recent allergy test, the only thing I didn't react to was walnuts. The dr said it could be that as a child they just advised me to avoid all nuts anyway, or it could be that they didn't used to test for walnut - anyway, the upshot is, I can apparently eat walnuts. I very carefully tried one at the weekend and it seemed to be fine.

I know this doesn't sound like a big deal but to someone who has literally never eaten a nut before, it is quite exciting. It is an entirely new taste and texture for mel I have thought of date and walnut cake and I know some people use them in salads or something?

Anyway - that is my request. Please give me all your walnut ideas and recipes! Thankee

Meadows

http://www.google.co.uk/search?sourceid=navclient&hl=en-GB&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4GGHP_en-GBGB434GB434&q=walnt+recipies

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/walnut

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/oct/27/recipes.foodanddrink

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes_menus/collections/healthy_walnut_recipes

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/tag/Walnut

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-1806/walnut-recipes.aspx

daisiegg

Thanks

I am of course able to use google, but wanted to get some personal recommendations as well

But thanks for posting the links to speed me up

Meadows

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Banana Teabread[/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]225 g (8 oz)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]Be-Ro Self Raising Flour [/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]1 x 1.25 ml (¼ tsp) spoon[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]bicarbonate of soda[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]pinch[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]salt[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]75 g (3 oz)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]butter[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]175 g (6 oz)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]caster sugar[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]2 medium[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]eggs, beaten[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]450 g (1 lb)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]bananas weighed with skin, peeled, mashed[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]100 g (4 oz)[/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica]walnuts, chopped[/FONT][/FONT]

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]1 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Heat oven to 180ºC, 350ºF, Gas Mark 4. Grease and line the base of a 1 kg (2 lb.) loaf tin.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]2 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Mix together flour, bicarbonate of soda and salt.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]3 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1][/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Cream the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, add the eggs a little at a time alternately with the flour.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]4 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Stir in the remaining flour, bananas and walnuts and place in prepared tin. Bake for about 1¼ hours.[/SIZE][/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]5 [/SIZE][/FONT][FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica][SIZE=-1]Cool on a wire rack.[/SIZE][/FONT]

daisiegg

Ooh thanks that banana bread looks lovely!

I don't want to sound stupid but what sort of texture do walnuts become when cooked? Do they go soft or are they still crunchy? I have never had anything crunchy in banana bread so it might be a nice change

Meadows

daisiegg wrote: »

Ooh thanks that banana bread looks lovely! I don't want to sound stupid but what sort of texture do walnuts become when cooked? Do they go soft or are they still crunchy? I have never had anything crunchy in banana bread so it might be a nice change

Still have a bite when cooked in the bread, another thing you could do is bake in a basic fruit / nut loaf where it would have even more bite.

Basic Bread

500g Loaf
Place in the bowl in this order (zero scales add bread tin, zero scales then add water etc., zero after each ingredient. Water can be weighed in grams is a more accurate measure than mil sand saves you changing the weights on the scales).

320g of warm water (can be fairly warm but too hot and it will kill the yeast)

500g Strong White Bread Flour

10g salt

6g Dried Yeast (the easy works best in a bread maker either individual sachets or the Doves for orange pack)

(For a fruit loaf add sultans or raisins, or add nuts, don’t add too many or the loaf may not rise well and be too heavy).

By hand:

Add Ingredients to a bowl and mix well, then turn out and knead on a work surface for about ten minutes. Form into a ball place back into the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel (best kept just for bread) and leave in a warm place to double in size (or overnight in the fridge covered with cling film - large bowl).
When doubled in size, knock back and then shape or put in a greased and floured loaf tin.

Leave again to double in size (or fill the tin 1lb tin). Set the oven to 220°then when hot enough put the dough into the oven and reduce the temperature to200°. Cook for 40 (depending on your oven) minutes until browned and when you tap the bottom with your knuckles until it sounds hollow.


Remove from the tin or tray place on a wire rack and wrap until cold with a tea towel.


500g of strong plain white flour 15g butter 1.5 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon sugar, 1 sachet of yeast 300ml of lukewarm water.
Knead for 10 minutes then put in a tin.

This recipe is great as it does not need to rise twice. Leave the bread to rise for an hour and then bake.

babyshoes

My partner made a coffee and walnut cake the other day, it was really good. Not sure which recipe she used, but most likely from the BBC food website. It has walnuts in the cake itself, which gives it a slight crunchy texture here and there, then coffee icing and walnuts to decorate. I love coffee, but find I can't really drink it, so the small amount in a cake is a real treat for me.

With halloween coming up, I have seen suggestions to use their brain-like appearance to make chocolatey snacks!

TBH, my favourite way of eating walnuts is on their own, or perhaps with some dried fruit. Just ensure you have sweet walnuts for that, the cheaper ones can be a bit bitter and unpleasant if not cooked.

Were you tested for pecan nuts too? I always thought they were closely related - they certainly look and taste somewhat similar. May be worth a query to your doc, as pecan pie is wonderful, though you could probably make a version of it with walnuts too.

daisiegg

babyshoes wrote: »

Were you tested for pecan nuts too? I always thought they were closely related - they certainly look and taste somewhat similar. May be worth a query to your doc, as pecan pie is wonderful, though you could probably make a version of it with walnuts too.

No, I wasn't, but my mum mentioned the same thing so I think at some point I will get some pecans and 'test' myself. Pecan pie does sound very exciting!

Pink.

This thread has lots of advice on using and storing walnuts:

Walnuts

I'll add this thread to that one later to keep the suggestions together.

Pink

lostinrates

Pecans are delicious, I hope you can get tested for them. Pecan pie is food for the gods.

I like walnuts coursely crushed in to short pastry for savoury tarts, such as with goats cheese, and sweet pastry for things like apple and plum pies, the late summer and autumn fruits.

Although it would be an occasional treat I would also consider making a little nut brittle with the walnuts ( I would very lightly toast them first). This is great as a candy, but also a shattered topping gor icecream, for example. I have not done it with walnuts, but think it would work ( I make pumkin seed brittle, so never feel restricted to traditional peanut brittle).

poppy-glos

Our favourite recipe with walnuts in is rolled out puff pastry. Edges scored about 1cm in to create a square voluvents type thing (I usually do them about 8 cm square. Then into the middle put some fried off red onion, a little blue cheese like Stilton, and a few bits of broken up walnut. Lovely hot or cold, or as part of a buffet or picnic.