Nuts and Nut Oils: Green Beans with Almonds

Nut oils are very expensive. They are also perishable, not nearly as shelf-stable as refined oils. That's because nut oils are simply pressed, not treated with solvents and cleaned up before bottling. And, it's why they taste so good, retaining the flavors of the nut. They make a divine vinaigrette. Not everyone wants (or can afford) to spend $8 on a small bottle of oil. Know what? You can use nuts. They taste like nuts too. They are significantly cheaper than nut oil and more nutritious because they contain fiber, protein, and micronutrients. They are lower in calories than nut oils. Oils have 120 calories per Tablespoon. Nuts vary, but 2 Tablespoons of sliced almonds contain 66 calories. That's a pretty good bang for you flavor buck.

Want your salad to taste like almonds? Throw in some sliced almonds. Not only will your salad taste like almonds, it will have some great crunch too.

Green beans amandine is a classic French vegetable dish. This is a quick version of that dish. You cook some green beans, sauté the nuts in a tiny bit of oil or butter, then toss the beans with the sliced almonds. Now, isn't that simple? Impress your friends by called it green beans amandine. They don't need to know.

Here's more information on cooking fresh green beans.

Green Bean with Almonds (Amandine)
(serves 4, costs $1.50 to $2, depending on price of green beans locally)

Cookies for the weekend: Chinese Almond Cookies

I made these cookies to serve at our last class on Chinese take-out you can make at home (see here and here). They were a big hit! They aren't hard to make, but the recipe makes quite a few, so it does take some time (and multiple cookie sheets). There are a couple of versions of the Chinese Almond Cookie: one that is more like shortbread and very crispy, and another that is chewy. This is the chewy version and it gets its chewy texture from the addition of egg whites. We use a mixture of butter and shortening (look for shortening with no hydrogenated fats, such as Spectrum's palm oil-based shortening). Lard is traditional but high-quality lard that hasn't been hydrogenated is nearly impossible to find nowadays.

Chinese Almond Cookies
(makes about 4 dozen)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder (see Note)
¼ teaspoon salt
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
6 Tablespoons non-hyrogenated vegetable shortening
½ cup white sugar
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 large egg whites mixed with 1 Tablespoon water
⅓ cup white sugar for rolling cookies in
about 4 dozen whole almonds, with skin or blanched, for garnish

Cover 2 cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.

Set two racks in the oven so they divide the oven into ⅓'s. Preheat oven to 325 F°.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl, combine butter, shortening, ½ cup sugar, and almond extract. Beat with an electric mixer until soft, light, and fluffy. Set mixer to its lowest setting and stir in ½ of the flour mixture. Add the egg whites and beat. Stir in the rest of the flour, scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix thoroughly by hand.

Place the ⅓ cup sugar in a small bowl. Take 1" pieces of dough (a spoon is good for the scooping) and roll in your hands. Roll in the sugar. Place on the prepared cookie sheets about 2" apart. Place a whole almond on each ball and press into cookie dough. When you have filled the 2 cookie sheets, place in the oven and bake for 14 minutes. They should be slightly golden brown on the bottom and not browned at all on top. Remove from the oven. Transfer the cookies on the paper/foil to racks to cool. Let sheets cool for 5 minutes, recover with paper/foil, form cookies with the rest of the dough and finish baking.

Note: I've adjusted this recipe to work at Boulder, Colorado elevation, 5400 ft. If you are at sea-level, increase baking powder to 1 ½ teaspoons.

Adapted from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri. He uses lard and says don't substitute shortening for the lard because it isn't like the cookies he remembered growing up in New Jersey. Point taken, but since I don't have that memory, they taste just fine to me made with shortening.

Moroccan Couscous Salad

So pretty! My daughter used Israeli couscous which is bigger than regular couscous.

My daughter is going off for a semester abroad in Scotland. For the first time in her life, she will be cooking for herself. Day in, day out. Not just the occasional grilled cheese sandwich. We are going through cookbooks looking for recipes that a) she would eat, b) require a minimum of equipment, and c) are quick and easy. A whole lot like the recipes here at School of Eating Good.

The first recipe she picked out is from Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, New York. My daughter had it this summer when we finally got to the Moosewood, after 30 years of trying on my part. It fulfills all three of her conditions. Added bonus - it's full of healthy veggies.

Moroccan Couscous Salad
(serves 4 as an entree, 6 as a side dish; total cost $7.80)

Salad
1 ½ cups dry couscous (see Note)
½ tsp salt
1 ¼ cups boiling water
1 cup diced carrots
2 large bell pepper, whatever color you like, diced
⅓ cup finely chopped red or sweet onion
1 15-16 oz can garbanzo beans (chickpeas), drained and rinsed
⅓ cup currants or raisins or craisins
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted at 300 F° for 5 minutes

Dressing
½ cup vegetable oil
juice of 1 lemon
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
3-4 tbl orange juice (juice from 1/2 an orange)
4 tbl chopped fresh parsley or cilantro (about 8 sprigs)
1 tbl fresh mint, chopped (optional)
pinch of cayenne
¼ tsp black pepper

Combine the couscous and salt in a large bowl. Add the boiling water and stir. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 10-15 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

While couscous is cooking, steam the diced carrots for 10 minutes. Add steamed carrots, diced peppers, onion, garbanzo beans, currants, and almonds to couscous. Stir with a fork.

Combine dressing ingredients in a medium bowl. Add to couscous mixture and mix to coat the salad.

You can eat it right away but it's even better if you chill it for an hour to let the flavors meld. It will keep for up to 4 days if refrigerated. Once it's cold, you may need to season with more salt. Cold foods don't taste as seasoned as hot foods.

Note: Couscous is a teeny-tiny pasta which doesn't require much cooking. It tends to clump together if stirred too much when hot. Fluffing with a fork keeps the grains separate.