eat make read

Not too long ago I was strolling through my blogroll and came to a sudden halt when I saw a recipe for savory roasted almonds over on sprouted kitchen. The photographs are always stunning, but until seeing the recipe I’d forgotten how comforting a fresh batch of roasted nuts could be. Easy and always delicious, they’re a great way to be creative in the kitchen without commiting too much time. I usually lean towards the sweet and spicy end of the spectrum, but this savory recipe seemed like the perfect afternoon snack.

After stripping the thyme leaves from their stems and zesting a lemon, I added all the spices to my mortar and pestle relieved a bit of stress by grinding the spices together for a minute or two. One of the things I like best about this recipe is the aroma it gives off almost from the very beginning. Think about the scent of thyme, then lemon, even red pepper flakes and parmesan… they all have distinctive smells, some stronger than others, but once combined it’s like a whirlwind of goodness.
I don’t know why it hadn’t ever occured to me (or maybe it has and I forgot), but eggs whites are such an easy way to bind things to nuts without using oil. I quickly coated the almonds with the egg whites and tossed the spices in. Into the oven they went, on a mission to create the awesomest smells ever.

Seriously, these almonds begin to smell incredible just minutes after putting them in the oven. As I sat patiently waiting for them to roast, I contemplated what exactly they smelled like and the closest thing I could think of is a fresh spaghetti sauce. I know there aren’t any tomatoes involved, but I feel like if you tossed all these spices in a pasta sauce it would be one hell of a sauce.
The time finally came to try them out and they lived up to their scent. They’re coated in an armor of garlicky thyme and cheese, with the occasional pepper flake hanging out to make sure you’re awake. Delicious and a bit addicting, they turned out to be a perfect afternoon snack.

savory roasted almonds
via sprouted kitchen
The spice measurements here are pretty moderate, if you like it spicier or love lemon for example, adjust as you desire. I know the sugar seems a bit out of place here, but it helps with the crust. Also, because ovens are all a bit different, test them after the recommended time. Note that they will dry out and crisp up even more once they cool out of the oven.

3 Cups/16 oz. Raw Almonds
2 Small Egg Whites (OR 1 Extra Large Egg White)
1/3 Cup Fresh Thyme Leaves
1 Tbsp. Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tbsp. Dried Oregano
1 Tbsp. Garlic Powder
3 Tbsp. Lemon Zest
2 tsp. Black Pepper
1 1/2 Tbsp. Natural Cane Sugar/Sucanat
Sea Salt
1/2 Cup Finely Grated Parmesan Cheese

Preheat oven to 275°F
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

1
In a bowl, or pestle and mortar, add the thyme, red pepper, oregano, garlic powder, black pepper, lemon zest and sugar together. If you have a pestle and mortar, grind all of the spices together to break them up a bit. You won’t get much of a paste, but the thyme should break down a bit and the red peppers will get smaller. Otherwise, the back of a heavy spoon will suffice as well.
2
Whisk the egg whites until frothy (about 2 minutes). Add the almonds, and fold them over to coat.
3
Add the spices mixture and mix again until they seem evenly distributed.
4
Spread the nuts out on the baking sheet and give them all a very generous grind of sea salt.
5
Sprinkle half of the parmesan evenly, and toss to coat. Make sure the nuts are spread in a single layer, and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top of the nuts. At this point, I added a fresh grind of black pepper all over, but that is your choice.
6
Bake in the middle rack for 25 minutes. Remove to cool completely before serving. And a final little dusting of parmesan when they are hot out of the oven never hurt anyone either.