food|store
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Nuts & Seeds
ALMONDS
FLAVOUR: Sweet and smooth with firm, crunchy texture. USE IN: Ground almonds are the basis for macarons, frangipane and marzipan. Flaked almonds go with trout. Add whole to Moroccan tagines in deserts with apricots and dates and toasted to fruitcakes.
All you need to know
With an ever increasing interest in eating more healthily and getting more plantbased protein into our diet, reducing the amount of saturated fats and increasing the healthy fats we consume, nuts seem like the perfect place to start. They dampen hunger pangs and are great in both sweet and savoury dishes.
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CASHEW
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HAZELNUTS
FLAVOUR: Delicately sweet, fragrant and crunchy with a warmer flavour when toasted. USE IN: Great in curries, biryanis and Asian stir-fry. Blended they are smooth enough to replace dairy in ice-cream, frosting and cheesecake. Perfect for dairy allergies or vegans. ALMONDS go with almost everything but are especially nice with a little Amaretto liqueur or a cold glass of Albarino. Agnes Dei Albarino, RSP €18, Independent Off Licences
Nibble toasted PINE NUTS with a nice Italian Amarone or Barolo. Ca’Rugate Amorone Della Valpolicella Classico DOC, €65, SuperValu Fine Wines and Specialist Off Licences
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PINE NUTS
FLAVOUR: Sweet, resin like with a very yielding texture. USE IN: Toast lightly on a dry pan and add to salads, pasta dishes or sprinkle over vanilla icecream. Try making fresh pesto, see our delicious ICA recipe from this issue on pg11.
FLAVOUR: Strong nutty taste that’s amplified when roasted, with a crunch texture. USE IN: Beautiful in salads with green beans or broccoli, feta and tomato; heavenly with chocolate, in cookies and cakes. Crushed hazelnuts are great added to muesli and crumble topping.
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WALNUTS
PISTACHIO
FLAVOUR: Slightly bitter from the tannins in the skin with complex flavour and astringent finish. USE IN: Salads with blue cheese, pear, rocket and honey. Grind with garlic, bread, Parmesan and olive oil to make a pasta sauce. Good in coffee cake.
FLAVOUR: A cousin of the cashew, pistachio tastes smooth, buttery, rich and sweetly fragrant. USE IN: Add to rice with cardamom; make wild rice salads with pistachio and pomegranate seeds. Make a fragrant pistachio and rosewater cake; Delicious with cherries, vanilla and chocolate.
Bright, zesty whites like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Sancerre are great with PISTACHIOS and their cousins the CASHEWS. Two
Chardonnay is rich and full bodied enough to be the perfect partner for HAZELNUTS. Du
Oceans Sauvignon Blanc, RSP €10. SuperValu and Centra nationwide and Independent Off-Licences
Boeuf Macon Lugny €15.29 SuperValu and Independent Off-Licences Nationwide
Spiced, roasted and salted nuts are the best options for sparkling wines, which handle salt really well. Marco Oro Valdo Prosecco, €19.50, Independents Nationwide.
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PEANUTS
FLAVOUR: Sweet, beany flavour that’s intensified with roasting and salting. USE IN: Savoury sauces like satay or add crushed peanuts to give crunch to noodle dishes. Snack on peanut butter and vegetable sticks or make a peanut butter cheesecake with caramel sauce.
Eat MACADAMIA NUTS with rum or pineapple based drinks.
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Reserve your WALNUTS for when you’re drinking a nice light Rosé. Les Fumees Blanches Rose Gris de Sauvignon €13.95 Independent OffLicences nationwide.
If you’re eating PEANUTS you should probably be drinking beer. Boyne Brewhouse Vienna Lager, 33cl, €2.49, O’Briens
MACADAMIA
FLAVOUR: Sweet, rich, and buttery flavour. Their natural oils and lipids hold many health benefits including helping to lower and maintain blood pressure and stabilise blood sugar. USE IN: Delicious on their own as a snack or add to cookies or salads to add body and texture.
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If you’re munching on COCONUT stick to rum! Plantation White Rum, €35, Specialist Off Licences
COCONUT
FLAVOUR: Milky, sweetly oily taste. Fibrous raw but dried or toasted can add crunch USE IN: Coconut milk adds creaminess and depth to fruity and Thai curries. Dried toasted coconut is great in muesli or flapjacks and essential in macaroons. Coconut oil is good for cooking and cosmetic purposes.
18 | ICA HOME & LIVING | AUTUMN 2017
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28/08/2017 09:50