Not just a steadfast ally for maintaining wellbeing, nuts are also an excellent helpmate for cooking at home!
So many of the traditional recipes from diverse countries around the world use nuts in sweet and savoury recipes.
The Chopped Nuts and Nuts Flours from Nuturally include products especially dedicated to people like you who love to try out new ideas in their cooking. Among these are:
Chopped almonds: suitable for making desserts such as the Sbrisolona cake, decorating chocolate truffles, but also for adding a crunchy touch to your puff pastry cream. Almonds in grains go perfectly with savoury recipes. For example, they can be sprinkled on a plate of pasta with sardines, a typical Sicilian dish, or added to traditional Neapolitan “sugna e pepe” (pig’s lard and pepper) taralli dough, as their sweetish taste helps to offset the pepper's pungency and the sardines' saltiness. Raw chopped almonds from Nuturally are also an excellent source of copper, which contributes to normal energy metabolism; manganese, which contributes to protecting cells from oxidative stress, and magnesium which is beneficial in reducing tiredness and fatigue.
Almond flour: this finely ground almond flour is perfect for blending into pastry mixes for carrot cake, for example, and for biscuits and amaretti – the small almond biscuits typical of Italy's Piedmont region, which are made of a combination of sweet almond flour and bitter almond extract that gives them their characteristic taste. The more daring can try their hand at traditional Sicilian almond paste, a mix of almond flour with sugar and egg whites, to create tasty desserts. Peeled almond flour from Nuturally is also an excellent source of copper, which contributes to the normal pigmentation of the skin; phosphorus, which contributes to the maintenance of normal red blood cells, and vitamin B2 involved in normal energy metabolism.
Shelled almond slices: ideal for decorating biscuits, spoonable desserts, and cakes, such as the Bakewell Tart. Produced by pure accident in a pastry shop in Bakewell, an English town from which it takes its name, in Victorian times Bakewell Tart was a soft cake consisting of a base of pâte brisée, a layer of raspberry jam and one of frangipani cream (almond flour, eggs, butter and sugar). A delicious cake perfect at tea time. Its special feature is its classic surface decoration made with sliced almonds and icing sugar. Also suitable as a topping for pancakes or for adding to oat flakes, fresh and dried fruit, and red fruits to create tasty homemade granola. Shelled almond slices from Nuturally are also an excellent source of copper, which contributes to the normal function of the immune system; manganese, which contributes to normal energy metabolism; and vitamin E, which is involved in protecting cells from oxidative stress.
Chopped roasted hazelnuts: chopped roasted hazelnuts are ideal for decorating any type of dessert preparation in a way that's delicious - and not just cakes and desserts, but even just a simple cup of ice cream or plate of fruit. For example, it can be used to garnish mixed fruit skewers previously dipped in a chocolate fondue or a banana split accompanied by cream and chocolate ice cream, cream and maraschino cherries. Finely chopped hazelnuts are an integral part of the dough of the "brutti ma buoni", biscuits originating from northern Italy made with finely chopped hazelnuts and meringue, and can be used to prepare an excellent porridge, the mainstay of the English breakfast, based on oat flakes, apples, honey and cinnamon. The chopped roasted hazelnuts from Nuturally are also an excellent source of magnesium, which contributes to the reduction of tiredness and fatigue and vitamin E, which contributes to the protection of cells from oxidative stress.
Chopped pistachios: chopped pistachios can be used in the preparation of both sweet and savoury dishes, both as a garnish and as a basic ingredient. As is well-known, pistachios are key ingredients in the culinary tradition of southern Italy and its islands. Finely chopped, it is used both in the garnish of Sicilian cannoli and also to enrich a tasty dish of Sardinian gnocchi with pieces of swordfish to create the excellent crust for a fresh tuna steak, or inside the arancini filling, or as part of the dressing of a Neapolitan pizza (fior di latte mozzarella, buffalo ricotta, extra virgin olive oil, basil, and pistachios in grains). What is perhaps less known is that pistachios also play a part in the preparation of traditional desserts in many parts of the world, one example of which is Baklava, a typical dessert of both Middle Eastern and Balkan cuisine based on phyllo dough, honey and pistachios in grains (some versions also include the use of almonds and walnuts in grains). Pistachios in grains are also excellent for the preparation of homemade pistachio pesto; just blend it with an immersion blender together with grated Grana Padano, basil, garlic, oil, salt and pepper to taste to obtain a tasty dressing for a dish of pasta. Nuturally raw chopped pistachios are also an excellent source of phosphorus, which contributes to the maintenance of normal bones and teeth; copper, which contributes to the normal transport of iron in the body; and vitamin B6 involved in the maintenance of normal psychological function.
Chopped walnuts: chopped walnuts are mainly used in the preparation of sweet pastries and cookies. A clear example is represented by the preparation and topping of Christmas cookies where chopped walnuts are used in combination with chocolate, pecans and almonds. Even though pastries are among the preparations that best fit the use of chopped walnuts, these can also be found in salty recipes, such as, for example, in salads or as an ingredient in spreads. Nuturally chopped walnuts are also a great source of manganese, copper and vitamin E, which contribute to the maintenance of health and well-being. Italian walnut flour: walnut flour is often used for preparing both sweet and salty recipes. It is an ingredient that confers to food preparations a determined amount of socalled "good walnut fats" resulting thus in tasty recipes. Among the most famous reciped that can be prepared using walnut flour there are zucchini bread, cookies with chocolate and walnuts, banana bread and cakes. The particular feature of walnut flour is that is contains a reduced amount of carbohydrates, so that it is mainly used for low-carb preparations. The walnut flour from Nuturally is particularly rich of copper, manganese and phosphor.
Grated coconut: grated coconut, as well as in decorations for desserts, crêpes and muesli, can be used as an integral part of many dessert recipes, especially biscuits, small pastries, and cakes. For example, it can be used in biscuit dough with chocolate chips combined with egg whites and sugar to create delicious baked coconut desserts, mixed with ricotta and icing sugar to create coconut balls which are then set in the fridge, or for a great classic like coconut cake, with grated coconut and hazelnut spread, and so many others. Beijinhos - a typical Brazilian dessert that involves the use of coconut flour - are small sweet balls made from coconut flour, butter and condensed milk, which are generally prepared for festivals and holidays alongside Brigadeiros, their chocolate twins. Grated coconut, also known as coconut flour, from Nuturally is an excellent source of copper, which contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system; manganese, which contributes to the maintenance of healthy bones, and fibre.
Whole cocoa beans: munched as a snack or coarsely chopped and used in recipes, bars, fruit salads and doughs, cocoa beans are an excellent source of essential minerals and nutrients. They are excellent for enriching homemade granola or to give a crunchy note to the filling of a cake or biscuit dough. The whole cocoa beans from Nuturally are truly an excellent source of copper, which contributes to the normal function of the immune system; magnesium, which contributes to normal muscle function; and manganese, which is involved in normal energy metabolism.
So how will you use all the delicious products from the range of Chopped Nuts and Nut Flours from Nuturally?
