I love walnuts.  Perhaps this started with the grand old walnut tree in our garden when I was little.  When I wasn’t swinging from it or chasing the chickens that lived at its feet, I was happily crushing walnuts between concrete blocks so I could prise the …
Today we greet the last entry in the ‘Almonds’ section of the Edmonds Cookbook, Broccoli with Almonds. And can I say, what a delight. Lightly cooked broccoli covered with lemony butter and toasted sliced almonds. Oh yum.
I promised you that there would be more almonds to follow as part of my Edmonds Cookbook challenge, and I did not lie. Â We now find ourselves at devilled almonds.
When you put your mind to it, there is a considerable number of food items prefaced by ‘devilled.’ Â Devilled eggs and devilled sausages, to name but two. Â I also came across a recipe for devilled kidneys in my travels through the internet, which sound slightly less appetising.
Letting my imagination get the better of me, I surmised that the ‘devilled’ part of devilled almonds may refer to naughty, n’er do well-type almonds as depicted:
The Oxford dictionary informs me, however, that ‘devilled’ means ‘cooked with hot seasoning.’   These little almonds are no exception, with a good sprinkling of chilli powder.  The essential ingredients for Edmonds‘ Devilled Almonds are:
One begins by heating the oil in a frypan. Â The recipe does not specify which type of oil one should use – I used plain old vegetable oil and it worked fine.
Then, add the blanched almonds. Â You may recall I have had adventures with blanched almonds not so long ago – as discussed then, blanched almonds are naked, skinless almonds; their clothes removed through a boiling water process.
Stir these almonds until they turn golden. Â They smell delicious during this process.
Remove the almonds and drain them on absorbent paper. Â Combine the chilli and salt and toss the almonds in this mixture to coat them, adding more chilli if you so desire (I did). Â Leave them to dry before use.
These little guys are scrumptious! Â Really, how can you ever go wrong with fried nuts? Â Not often, in my savoury-toothed world. Â I think there is plenty of potential for some delicious variation with this recipe. Â It would be delicious with some freshly ground pepper added, or some cumin and ground coriander. Â I’m even wondering about the possibility of a little wasabi powder. Â Varying the oil used could also yield bountiful tastiness.
They would make a lovely little gift for the nut-lover in your life as they are quite pretty as well as delicious and look cute all done up in a jar.
Enjoy! Â Especially with a cold beverage before dinner.
