Our ingredient of the week (pecans) was selected by Sheri of the blog As the Seasons Change. Thanks Sheri!
I love to make roasted spiced nuts for parties and for the holidays, but almost every recipe calls for cooking high-fat, high-calorie nuts in a bunch of butter. So I started looking for a recipe that was a bit lighter and found one from Emeril's new show on the Planet Green network. These nuts are roasted in oil, not butter, and I lightened it up even more by cutting the amount of oil in half. I also changed the spices a bit by using Aleppo pepper instead of cayenne.
Aleppo pepper, from Turkey, "has an Ancho-like flavor, plus a bit of tartness and a nice bite" according to Penzey's Spices which is where I bought it. Cayenne would work just fine.
Anyway, this is my favorite Small Bite I've made so far. Very tasty with a glass of wine or a cocktail. Recipe is below.
Other Small Bites cooks are listed here. Next week's ingredient is "pumpkin."
Herbed and Spiced Pecans
(adapted from this Emeril Green recipe)
1 TB. vegetable oil
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 - 3/4 teaspoon Aleppo pepper (or cayenne)
1 cup pecan halves
In a bowl whisk together oil, thyme, salt, sugar, and pepper. Add nuts and toss to coat.
Transfer nuts to a cold skillet. Heat to medium high heat, tossing nuts until lightly brown and aromatic, about 5 to 7 minutes. Watch carefully to make sure they don't burn!
Serve nuts warm or at room temperature.
Enjoy!
Comments (7)
What a great idea! I love snacking on nuts and pecans are one of my favourites.
Posted by Anne | October 19, 2009 9:06 AM
Posted on October 19, 2009 09:06
they look great. i minimize oil by using the microwave n just a light coating of oil ( sunflower oil )
Posted by bengbeng | October 19, 2009 9:39 AM
Posted on October 19, 2009 09:39
Hi Annie, yummy! This looks really delicious. I love nuts and spicey so I'm definitely going to try this recipe. Thanks so much for sharing it!
Have a great day today!
Posted by Kathy (Trekcapri) | October 19, 2009 10:02 AM
Posted on October 19, 2009 10:02
Thanks everyone, and Bengbeng, thanks for the tip about using the microwave (I've never tried that).
Posted by Annie | October 19, 2009 10:33 AM
Posted on October 19, 2009 10:33
Looks very tasty! I've heard so much about Penzey's that I'm going to have to visit it soon.
Posted by María I. | October 19, 2009 4:01 PM
Posted on October 19, 2009 16:01
Hi Maria, we don't have a Penzey's here so I order from their catalog. I'd love to visit a store someday.
Posted by Annie | October 20, 2009 9:04 AM
Posted on October 20, 2009 09:04
With a glass of red, that would be heavenly!
Posted by candi | October 20, 2009 2:52 PM
Posted on October 20, 2009 14:52