This is one of my mother’s recipes that was entirely in her head. When I moved out of home, she wrote many of those ‘in her head’ recipes down throughout the year i.e. as the occasion called for her to make them. This particular recipe was for Christmas. We entertained quite a bit at Christmas time. She liked to hold informal drinks evenings where she served a whole range of nibbles and treats such as home made sausage rolls and pies, cheese logs, dips etc. We all sat in our (very tiny) lounge room and mum served the food on our card table, replenishing plates and drinks all evening. I loved those gatherings as it brought lots of wonderful people to our home each year and we shared such fun times together.

Memories are everything!

This recipe for Devilled Almonds was one that I did not appreciate as a child but as an adult just love the taste. I guarantee that you won’t be able to stop at a few.

So here it is…

What you will need:

500 g Blanched Whole Almonds

2 tablespoons Butter

Cayenne Pepper

Soy Sauce (Korean soy sauce is preferable!)

Salt and Pepper

Method:

Heat a large frying pan (or electric fry pan) to a low- medium heat.

Melt the butter and add in the almonds with the salt and pepper. Stir constantly for 1-2 minutes.

Add a ‘good shake’ of cayenne pepper (these are mum’s words – the size of the shake should depend on your tolerance to hot tasting food!) and keep mixing  for about 8 minutes.

Don’t let the almonds brown too much – turn down the heat if this is happening. Add more butter if needed.

Add a tablespoon of soy sauce and mix well.

The almonds should ‘crackle a bit’ (also mum’s words) when ready.

When ready, strain off the butter and place the cooked nuts onto a piece of baking paper. Add additional salt and pepper to taste and toss.

Once the nuts have cooled store them in a airtight container.

Enjoy!

What Next?

We hope you will join us at Helpful by Nature by subscribing to our email list. We would love to hear from you, take your questions and provide answers if we are able.

Until next time,

Gillian (and Andrew)