Belinda Jeffery

I find I use this simple recipe again and again to add a bit of texture and oomph to a simple green salad…the crunchy salty/sweet nuts are a lovely contrast to the greens. This recipe only makes enough for one regular sized salad, so double it if you want to use the nuts as nibbles with a drink.

Makes enough nuts to sprinkle over one medium-sized green salad

Preheat your oven to 170C and line a small baking tray with baking paper.

To prepare the macadamias, mix together the honey, cumin and fine salt in a bowl, then add the macadamias and stir them about until they’re really well coated in the mixture. Scrape the nuts onto the prepared tray and spread them out so they’re lying in a single layer, not touching. Sprinkle them evenly with the caster sugar, then pop the tray in the oven.

Roast the nuts for 7 minutes until they start to smell toasty, then remove the tray from the oven and turn the macadamias over. Return them to the oven for 4 – 5 minutes or so, stirring regularly, until they’re a beautiful glossy brown. The time will vary somewhat depending on the size of the nuts you use, so check them towards the end of the cooking time as they burn quite easily.  Once they’re done, remove the tray from the oven and leave the macadamias to cool on the tray – the honey and sugar will form a lovely crisp, shiny coating. Once they’re cool, sprinkle them with a little sea salt, if using. If you’re not eating them straight away, layer the nuts between sheets of baking paper in a container, seal it tightly, and pop them in the freezer where they will keep well for a week or more. Only defrost them a few minutes before you need them by sitting them on a sheet of baking paper in a cool spot (if you do this too far ahead the nuts will become sticky.)