Pam Corbin
LATIN NAME
Carya illinoinensis
MORE RECIPES
Brazil nut, cacao and orange granola
Tender-sweet, rich and buttery, pecans look like elongated walnuts but taste sweeter and feel softer, with less of a distinct ‘snap’. Harvested from a member of the hickory family, native to North America, they thrive best in the steamy cotton- and maize-growing regions of the deep south and the Mississippi Valley.
Pecans are harvested from October until December and, with a high oil content (70 per cent), they can quickly go rancid. To extend their life, the shelled pecans available from health food shops, farm shops and supermarkets throughout the year have been subjected to a dehydration process. Store them in an airtight container in a cool dry place and they should keep well for several months.
As proven by pecan pie – America’s sticky national favourite – this nut’s exceptionally creamy butteriness and delicate crunch lends itself to baking. Pile pecans into brownies, cookies, fruit cakes, bread and pastries. They make cracking good partners to – and indeed replacements for – most other nuts in these situations. Their superb flavour is heightened further if they are lightly toasted in a moderate oven for 4–5 minutes.
Often favoured as a dessert nut because of their lack of nutty bitterness, pecans are a great source of protein and fibre and work very well in savoury nut roasts and stuffings. Toasted and lightly salted, they make sustaining round-the-clock nibbles and add a wholesome bite to all kinds of salads. Place 200g shelled pecans on a baking sheet, trickle over 20ml rapeseed or olive oil and shake about a bit to coat. Roast at 180°C/Fan 160°C/Gas 4 for 5–6 minutes, remove and sprinkle with 1 tsp sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Return to the oven and roast for a further 5 minutes. Thankfully, the pecan is an easy nut to crack…
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE PECAN PRALINE COOKIES
Use dark chocolate in these cookies for a grown-up treat; or milk or white chocolate for a sweeter result with after-school appeal. Makes about 20
125g butter, softened
175g soft light brown sugar
Seeds scraped from ½ vanilla pod (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
150g plain flour
25g cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
A large pinch of salt
1 medium egg
100g dark, milk or white chocolate, coarsely chopped
FOR THE PECAN PRALINE
100g caster sugar
75g pecans, roughly chopped
TO FINISH
About 20 pecans
For the praline, line a baking sheet with baking parchment or a silicone liner. Put the sugar in a heavy-based pan (with a light-coloured base, so you can see the sugar change colour) and place over a medium-low heat. After a couple of minutes, it will start to melt at the edges. Swirl it gently as it starts to liquefy (you can stir it a bit, but no more, or it may crystallise). By the time all the sugar has melted, some of it will be brown. Keep cooking for a minute or so, swirling gently, until all the syrup has turned a rich caramel colour.
At this point, take it off the heat, stir in the chopped pecans and tip the lot on to the prepared baking sheet; take care because the caramel will be extremely hot. Leave to cool and set, then coarsely chop the praline.
Preheat the oven to 190°C/Fan 170°C/Gas 5 and line 2 large baking sheets with baking parchment or silicone liners.
Beat together the butter, sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add 1 tbsp to the butter and sugar mix, together with the egg, and beat until smooth. Add the remaining flour mix and work it in with a wooden spoon, then work in the praline and chocolate.
Place dessertspoonfuls of the mixture on the baking trays, shaping them roughly into rounds (leave plenty of room for spreading). Press a whole nut into the top of each and bake for 10 minutes for cookies with a slightly chewy centre, 12 minutes for a crisper finish.
Leave the cookies on the baking sheets for about 5 minutes to cool slightly, so they firm up a little, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.