Sweet, savoury, spicy, crunchy and nutty – possibly my favourite ever snack. You will probably burn your tongue in your eagerness to put them in your mouth. I don’t recommend this, but I do understand it.
- 200g mixed whole nuts (I usually use blanched almonds and cashews – also works well with peanuts. Outstanding with macadamias. Not walnuts)
- 1 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp caster sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp chilli flakes
- Toast the nuts in a dry pan (ideally a non-stick one as you’ll be melting sugar in it in a minute). This is an exercise in patience, as you’ll want to do it quickly but the best results are achieved by taking it slow over a low-ish heat. You want them golden all over and not even a tiny bit burnt
- Turn the heat up to medium, add the butter and stir to coat the nuts as it melts
- Sprinkle over the sugar, salt and chilli flakes
- Now you’ve got to pay attention. This is where it could all go deliciously right or disastrously wrong. Stir the buttery nuts constantly, moving them around the pan to coat them in the sugar as it melts and caramelises. This will only take a couple of minutes. If you leave to go and answer the door/check your phone they will burn.
- When they’re all coated and glistening (and oh SO hot), tip them out onto a tray lined with greaseproof paper and leave to cool completely. The caramel will harden into a crisp coating around the spicy, salted, toasted nuts.
I’m sure these would be delicious chopped roughly and sprinkled over a salad, but they never, ever get that far in my house. It’s a struggle to make them last more than an hour.
Sophie cooks 
One thought on “Caramelised chilli nuts”