Go nuts for tasty, oven-roasted holiday nuts

I don’t know much about these nuts, except they are really, really good.

My friend Victor raved about them, then brought them to a potluck and he wasn’t wrong.

The story is that the recipe is from the

Union Square Café in New York City by way of Nigella Lawson. I don’t know how that all happened because she’s, you know, from Britain. But I suppose she could have come to this country, and ordered a drink and eaten a nut at the Union Square Cafe and, because she’s famous, they gave her the secret recipe. Like I said, I don’t know.

But I do know they’re good. Perfect for the holidays.

Serve them warm. They’re best warm and they make your house smell wonderful.

Union Square Cafe’s bar nuts

2¼ cups mixed unsalted nuts, including peeled peanuts, cashews, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans and whole unpeeled almonds

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary leaves

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons Maldon or other sea salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Toss the nuts in a large bowl to combine, then spread them out on a baking sheet.

Toast in the oven until light golden brown, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, combine the rosemary, cayenne, sugar, salt and melted butter. Thoroughly toss the toasted nuts in the spiced butter and serve warm.