Tag Archives: snacks

Dry Roast Nuts: Cashews and Peanuts

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Last week I bought lots of  snacky stuff like crisps,  peanuts and cashew nuts to munch on whilst we watched the Olympics. I was shocked to see the amount of oil and salt content in the snacks we were consuming plus the cost of some of these packets was also astronomical. I remember how my parents used to roast the nuts at home and decided to try my hand at doing the same but by using the microwave. The results were amazing and we didn’t feel so guilty as the products were low in salt and virtual fat free.

Ingredients:

2 cups of  raw cashew nuts ( all available at most Supermarkets, Indian stores and health food stores)
2 cups of jumbo peanuts
2 Cups of blanched peanuts
Lo salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (Lo salt  tastes the same but contains 66% less sodium than regular salt)
1 tablespoon of olive oil

Method

FOR THE CASHEWS:

1.  Transfer the raw cashews to an ovenproof dish

2. Add one teaspoon of oil and sprinkle the lo salt and black pepper and mix well. The oil will help to coat the lo salt and pepper on the nuts.

3. Cook on high for 2 minutes, stir and cook again for 2 minutes and stir. Every microwave’s cooking time will vary depending on its size and speed.  My cashew nuts took 6 minutes to roast in the microwave.  Also remember that the nuts will be hot and still cooking for a few seconds until they cool.

4.  Transfer the nuts to a dish lined with kitchen paper and allow them to cool.

5.  Enjoy the guilt free nuts anytime.

FOR THE PEANUTS:

1.  Mix the two varieties of peanuts and transfer them to a microwave dish.

2.  Add the remaining 1 teaspoon of oil with the lo salt and black pepper.  Stir well.

3. Like the cashews, roast them at 2 minute intervals stirring in between. It took the peanuts 8 minutes to roast in the microwave.

4. Again allow the peanuts to cool in a dish lined with kitchen paper.

5. You can either save the cooled nuts in different jars or mix them together  depending on your preference.

Tip: You can also use the same technique for roasting almonds.

You can also some make  potato crisps using a similar technique.   Here I added some rosemary, salt and a teaspoon of oil to sliced potatoes:

Corkers: Rock & Roll Crisps in Space

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The press pack for these Corkers Crisps tells me they are made from a unique variety of potato (Naturalo, apparently), are sliced thinner for a better texture, are made locally and sustainably in Cambridgeshire, are served on BA, at Kew Gardens and The British Library, have been on television and even travelled to space.

That’s quite a series of achievements for a company that is only 4 years old and was dreamt up on a ski lift.

Founded in 2009 by friends Ross Taylor and Rod Garnham, the entire business is based at the Taylor family farm just outside Cambridge, meaning that everything is done in one place, so visitors can dig their own spud and see it made into crisps in under an hour.

All of this would be for nought, however, if the crisps were not any good. But they are actually some of the best I’ve ever had.

Where mass-market branded crisps tend to be greasy, overly salted and rather harsh, these feel like they have been made with real attention to detail; not at all greasy, with good, well-balanced flavours, they are very good crisps.

The CWB children were naturally keen to help out with a tasting so we opened up all six packets and got to work.

The quality of all varieties was uniformly high and choices for best crisp really just came down to personal preference.

For me, the more traditional flavours worked best – the Sea Salt was fine, the Sea Salt and Black Pepper had a lovely kick of aromatic black pepper whilst the Sea Salt and Cider Vinegar was nicely sweet-sharp and salty.

The more ambitious flavours of Sweet Thai Chili, Red Leicester and Caramelised Onion plus Pork Sausage and English Mustard I found a bit less convincing overall and rather sweeter, but from equally well-made base materials.

Corkers Crisps 40g bags are priced around 75p each.