Cashew Nut Butter and 'Live Blogging'

Sometimes you read something in the food pages that strikes a real chord with you. Often the recipes featured are distinctly seasonal and faintly inspiring but occasionally one will come along that simply shouts ‘Try me!’

In last Saturday’s Guardian, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall was talking nuts. More specifically those big packets of nuts that sit in the back of a dark cupboard slowly going stale.

‘Don’t we have a bag of cashew nuts in the back of our store cupboard?’ said my girlfriend.

I tried to think back to the last time I’d used a cashew. ‘Erm, I think we might,’ I replied. Vague memories of toasting and grinding cashews to top a Phad Thai back in the Summer came to mind.

I went to check.

She was right. It appeared I’d bought a rather ambitious kilo of them after we returned from Thailand last August, no doubt purchased in a fit of enthusiasm and a desire to recreate some of the great food we had whilst on holiday.

But there was still a vast quantity left. ‘I’m going to make this,’ she said, pointing to a recipe for cashew nut butter. I nodded an approving nod, made a positive noise and watched her bound into the kitchen.

After a few minutes and much noise, she returned with a teaspoonful of what looked like peanut butter, only the colour of clotted cream.



It was delicious, especially over the remainder of the oatcakes I made last week.


Cashew Nut Butter (after HFW)

200g unroasted and unsalted cashew nuts
3-4 tablespoons of rapeseed or groundnut oil (we didn’t have either so used sunflower oil instead. It worked just fine)
1-2 tablespoons of runny honey
a pinch of salt.

Mix this lot together in a food processor until you have a creamy paste and there you go. It should keep for about a week in a sealed and refrigerated container.


Live Blogging
In other news, tomorrow will see my first attempt at ‘live blogging’.

I’ve been invited by the good people at the Miele Experience Centre to go and try out some of their gadgetry and learn how to rustle up some quality Irish fayre in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day.

I’ll be posting throughout the day from about 11am. Just drop by from then to follow what’s going on.

Alternatively, follow me on Twitter.

*Currently cooking to the sounds of Handsome Devil by Jim Bianco. Excellent debut from the gravel voiced Hotel Cafe resident. Snippets of sleazy prohibition era Americana, delicious ballads and some cheeky dittys thrown in for good measure. Also excellent live. 8.5/10