Stories Collected While Living in France

French la Vie

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Cracking Walnuts

cracking walnuts

 

Whenever we come home, whether it is Sacha, Chelsea or I we always crack and shell walnuts, and we are at it again. Three hours later several bags full.

 

cracking walnuts

 

Indian summer, or should I say summer going into late Fall.

Mr. Espresso cracked the walnuts and we shelled them.

When a handful cost 7 euros in France, we crack a couple pounds worth to take back with us.

 

cracking walnuts

 

shelling walnuts

 

cracking walnuts

 

Do you have a recipe using walnuts that you would like to share?

Pesto with walnuts is one of my favorite usage, or endive/roquefort/walnut tart… and you?

Comments

24 responses to “Cracking Walnuts”

  1. Kipper

    I like just eating walnuts., in a pesto and if course in cookies! Oh and in salads and quick breads like pumpkin bread..and brownies and… just realized how much I like walnuts!

    Reply
  2. g

    I love walnuts raw-and cashews but my most favorite is brazil nuts– if I eat like 5 of them I feel as full as if I had eaten a whole sandwich-walnut pesto sousd so good!

    Reply
  3. Kathie

    Well before my time, my Azores-born grandfather, who’d worked on farms in his youth in Solano County (maybe closer to Sacramento earlier, but our family history is at best fuzzy), grafted an English walnut onto black walnut rootstock, and planted it in my parents’ backyard. By the time I was old enough to remember, we’d have a bumper crop of nuts every year.
    Each fall in childhood, one of my chores was to gather all the newly-fallen walnuts off the lawn every afternoon and lay them out on the porch and back steps for the husks to finish drying. So, every fall I’d sport fingers like a Sealpoint Siamese cat, from the dye in the husks 🙁

    Reply
  4. Kathie

    P.S. I have one of those pink-and-blue striped pitcher-bowls, too!

    Reply
  5. Kathie

    Recipes? Obviously there are lots for cookies and brownies, because chocolate in particular seems to complement walnuts. But here’s a non-chocolate one we like, a slightly modified version of a recipe in “Party Cookies Only” by Jeannette Widom, 1972; published as a fundraiser by GASP (Group Against Smog and Pollution), Pittsburgh, PA.
    LEMON CHEESECAKE SQUARES
    CRUST (including 2 cups to reserve for crumb filling):
    2 cups flour
    ? cup (= 1? stick) soft butter
    ? cup brown sugar (packed in cup)
    1 cup walnuts, chopped fine
    FILLING:
    16 ounces cream cheese, softened
    1 cup sugar
    2 eggs
    2 Tablespoons fresh lemon juice
    2 teaspoons grated fresh lemon peel
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    4 Tablespoons (= ¼ cup) flour
    CRUST: Mix ingredients till crumbly (really fast in food- processor); RESERVE 2 cups if making crumb topping, press rest in pan. Bake 12-15 minutes @ 350̊F; remove from oven.
    FILLING: While crust bakes, beat ingredients till smooth; spread on ½-baked crust.
    CRUMB TOPPING: Sprinkle filling with RESERVED crumbs; bake 25 minutes longer, till firm. Chill overnight, or till firm; cut into squares to serve.
    ALTERATIVE SOUR CREAM TOPPING
    2 cups (= 1 pint) sour cream
    ¼ cup sugar
    2 teaspoons vanilla
    Bake cheese filling as above, except WITHOUT crumb topping. After the baked cheesecake is done, mix the sour cream, vanilla and sugar VERY lightly (because overmixing will make it runny), spread it on top of the baked filling, and bake 10 minutes more. Chill overnight, or till firm; cut into squares to serve.

    Reply
  6. Kathie

    Our dear deceased Polish-American neighbor Helen (MY own “Annie”!) would make huge quantities of these little traditional Polish pastries for holiday giving, so one year I asked for the recipe, in order to make my own. If you don’t like walnuts, you can used Apricot preserves instead (I like both!).
    NUT HORNS (“BALISH”)
    COOKIE DOUGH:
    ½ pound (= 2 sticks = 1 cup) butter
    3 cups flour
    3 egg yolks, beaten
    1 Tablespoon sugar
    ½ cup cream or milk
    1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    ¼ cup lukewarm water
    1 yeast cake (or 1 package dry yeast)
    10X (powdered) sugar, for rolling out
    NUT FILLING:
    ½ – ¾ cup ground walnuts
    1½ cup sugar
    3 egg whites, beaten
    1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    Mix yeast, sugar and water; add milk. In another bowl, mix flour and butter; add yolks. Combine the 2 mixtures; knead well. Sprinkle 10X sugar on board. Shape dough in marble- size pieces (½” – ¾” diameter balls), then roll out circles 2″ in diameter (⅛” thick). Place just a SMALL amount of filling in each center, roll up into crescents; sift 10X sugar on tops.
    Bake 15 minutes @ 375̊F, till lightly browned; as soon as pans come out of oven, gently remove them onto cooling racks with wide spatula. Excess filling will spill onto baking sheet. If any Balish stick, return the pan to the warm oven briefly to melt the sweet spilled filling. These little pastries freeze well.

    Reply
  7. Kathie

    OOPS! Those “?” ingredients should read:
    2/3 cup (= 1-1/3 stick) soft butter
    2/3 cup brown sugar (packed in cup)

    Reply
  8. Kathie

    This recipe is for an UN-greased 9″ x 13″ x 2″ pan.

    Reply
  9. Kathie

    Bake on GREASED cookie sheets.

    Reply
  10. Jacklynn Lantry

    I don’t have the recipe but I know what they are, a small, individual tart made with a buttery crust and walnut/caramel filling. A women who used to live in Providence, near me, made them. She’d been an ER Doctor and retired, went to Le Cordon Bleu to learn pastry making and then returned to our area and opened a shop. They were divine. She ended up moving back to her native Michigan to care for elderly relatives. A huge loss to my tastebuds.

    Reply
  11. Jacklynn Lantry

    Walnut tarte, here’s a link!:
    http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/perigord-walnut-tart-352880

    Reply
  12. Taste of France

    My grandma used to make tassies, usually with pecans, though they are even more expensive than walnuts. Martha Stewart has a recipe: http://www.marthastewart.com/312653/pecan-tassies
    I haven’t checked it against my grandma’s version. But Grandma wrote (by hand) at the bottom: It gets easier, the more you make.

    Reply
  13. Arnelle Louise

    Whole walnuts (oven toasted)
    Blue cheese
    Honey
    Endive spears
    Place a nugget of blue cheese on each endive spear
    Stick one walnut into the cheese
    Drizzle with honey (chestnut honey is the best..but any darker honey will work)
    You can skip the toasting of the walnuts..but it will not be as good!
    An easy and fast Thanksgiving tapa..

    Reply
  14. Toni

    I love walnuts in banana bread but no one else does 🙁

    Reply
  15. Dd

    Apple , toasted walnut , Roquefort salad. With some dried cranberries this says fall.

    Reply
  16. Christine

    I have a thing for hands and your mother’s hands are magnificent.
    Alas I don’t have a walnut recipe to share but I do love them!

    Reply
  17. Judy in Fort Worth

    Chelsea’s hair is getting long! Did she think she was going to compete in The Longest Hair contest?!
    Your mama’s hands ARE beautiful….and Annie’s hands were, too.
    We used to crack walnuts growing up, but now I just buy them – but not 7 euros a handful! It would be hilarious to see the people who check your bag – I’m with you, though…walnuts are right up there with gold!

    Reply
  18. Anne

    How about salads – with pear, roquefort (or another bleu) and walnuts tossed with the greens, or apple, hard cheese of your choice and walnuts? Favorites chez nous, in fact
    I’ve got pears, walnuts and gorgonzola ready for such a salad here in Aix! And next time I’ll bring walnuts with me from Trader Joes 😉

    Reply
  19. Chico Sue

    Cracking walnuts and almonds can become addicting. We used to spend hours doing this and then we would send them to our friends and relatives in Michigan. They were grateful to have them, but we finally realized that they could just buy them in Michigan for a lot less than it cost us in postage. Our favorite Hungarian pastries using walnuts are kiflis.

    Reply
  20. Rachel Schindler

    Please share your recipe for walnuts and pesto. I am having a party next Saturday and would love to serve them. Sounds so yummy.

    Reply
  21. pattyg

    A favorite recipe!
    Recipe: Bucatini With Raw Nut Pesto and Tomato Sauce (Bucatini alla Lipari)
    JAN. 3, 2007
    (I would recommend starting with one cup of nuts for the nut pesto, add more to taste per preference to the red sauce)
    Time: About 40 minutes
    FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE:
    ¼ cup olive oil
    1 medium onion, finely chopped
    1 clove garlic, finely chopped
    1 pound (about 2 cups) canned whole peeled tomatoes, with juice
    Salt and freshly ground black pepper
    For the pesto:
    2 garlic cloves, crushed
    2 teaspoons hot red pepper flakes
    5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
    2 cups mixed whole raw nuts, like pine nuts, walnuts, pistachios and hazelnuts
    3 to 4 leaves of fresh mint
    Freshly ground black pepper
    For the pasta:
    Salt
    1 pound bucatini
    Fresh mint leaves, for garnish
    Grated sheep’s milk pecorino.
    1. For tomato sauce: In a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat, heat oil and sauté onion until translucent. Add garlic and tomatoes with their juices, breaking up the tomatoes with a wooden spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Simmer uncovered until most of the juices have evaporated, 20 to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare pesto.
    2. For pesto: In a food processor, combine garlic, hot pepper flakes, olive oil, nuts and mint. Pulse to make a smooth paste (a slightly coarse nut butter). Season with black pepper to taste and set aside.
    3. For pasta: Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add bucatini and cook until al dente (firm to the bite). Set aside ½ cup pasta water, and drain pasta well. Return pasta to the warm pot and add pesto and tomato sauce. Toss well to coat, adding reserved water as needed to thin the sauce. Transfer to a warm serving bowl and garnish with fresh mint leaves. Serve with pecorino cheese passed separately.
    Yield: 4 servings.

    Reply
  22. pattyg

    The recipe is from the New York times. I usually use mainly walnuts and a few pine nuts.

    Reply
  23. jend’isère

    Tis the season in Grenoble, where walnuts have a special appellation. Love how the French word for walnut is “noix” which simply translates to just “nut”. Here there are 3 varieties. Are California walnuts much different?

    Reply
  24. Rebecca from the pacific northwest

    Oh your mother’s beautiful HANDS in that next to the last photo!!!
    I’ve always been very careful bringing agricultural items back to the US, because they seem so picky. It’s not the same going to France?

    Reply

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