…January nut series continued...
(sweet potatoes with maple candied hazelnuts)
Hazelnuts
Turkey is by far the biggest producer of hazelnuts and a decent amount come from Italy. Domestically they are produced in Washington and Oregon. Mid-summer is harvest time when hazelnuts fall from the trees and are swept from the ground. The little branches and dust are cleaned from the hazelnuts with blowers and a vacuum technique on manufacturing belts. It’s a rather cumbersome process because the machinery is very sensitive to weather fluctuations (lending to their high cost no doubt).
(hazelnuts in a grinder) (ground hazelnuts)
Tortes & Pastries
Spending time in Vienna as a young cook I became quite familiar with hazelnut laden tortes and pastries such as Esterhazy torte and Linzer cookies which have a rich, sweet taste without being too sugary. The rich hazelnut fat (it has 60% fat!) seems to be the perfect “mortar” ingredient lending moistness and flavor to pastries.
(house-made hazelnut spread with a sprinkle of sea salt on top)
Nutella
I had the pleasure of growing up with Nutella -- the Italian hazelnut spread – you’ll know what I mean once you dip a spoon into Nutella and then let it melt in your mouth. It’s
rich, sweet and has a heavenly velvety texture. Even now – grown up (arguably) I treat myself frequently with a warm pannini sandwich layered with Nutella at a local wine boutique.
Back in the day it was advertised as being healthy to eat Nutella for breakfast. Being a daddy myself today I read my daughter’s food ingredient lists (if it’s not home cooked). I was a little horrified when I read the ingredients of this “healthy snack” - artificial flavoring, modified palm oil, a substantial amount of sugar (over 50%). So I decided to make my own home-made version of hazelnut spread since I prefer for my family to eat such ingredients in a limited amount.
Every Day Hazelnut Spread
(yields about 2 cups spread)
2 cups blanched/skinless hazelnuts
½ cup whole fat milk
4-6 tablespoons powdered sugar (to taste)
½ vanilla bean (scraped) or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract may be substituted
1. In a skillet toast hazelnuts on medium heat setting (constantly move hazelnuts 4-5 minutes with a spatula – so that hazelnuts don’t burn)
2. Transfer toasted hazelnuts into a kitchen processor and blend until pasty textured then add milk slowly and continue to blend. Add sugar and vanilla.
Steaming hot hazelnuts
One of my favorite hot beverages in freezing, wintery January is a steaming hot hazelnut flavored coffee. The toasted nuttiness of hazelnuts compliment and balance the roasted bitterness of coffee beans perfectly.
(hazelnut flavored coffee)
