Raw, roasted or ground into a paste, hazelnuts are just delicious.
Hazelnuts are a distinguished and royal nut. Greeks used the nut as a medicine. In ancient China hazelnuts were among the five nourishments God bestowed on human beings. Scandinavians made the king’s staff from the wood of the hazelnut tree.
They can be eaten straight out of the shell, but roasting hazelnuts intensifies their flavor and develops their color. Hazelnuts are a tasty way to add protein and vitamins to food, plus added crunch and color when toasted with their skins on.
“I think they are great because they are a flavor punch,” says Alicia Arter, Seattle editor of the Zagat guide. “Everything has peanuts, walnuts or pecans in it, and those flavors are good but they don’t make you take notice. Hazelnuts do make you notice.”
Her favorite use of hazelnuts is with chocolate.
“Nutella is really popular with young adults and kids now, and it’s chock-full of hazelnuts. So it’s cool,” she says.
That treat was developed during World War II by Pietro Ferrero. The pastry maker thought hazelnuts, plentiful in the region of Italy where he lived, would be a great way to extend chocolate, which was rationed and in short supply.
That same chocolate and hazelnut combo is used in this heartfelt dessert Arter plans to prepare for her sweetie.
Valentine’s Day Baked Meringue with Raspberries and Hazelnuts
Ingredients
For the meringue
4 egg whites from large eggs
1 ¼ cups sugar
1/8 tablespoon salt
For the toppings
½ cup hazelnuts with skins on, toasted and chopped
1 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup sugar (optional)
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract OR 1 tablespoon Calvados or Courvoisier
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Whip the egg whites on medium speed. As the whites thicken, slowly add the 1 ¼ cups of sugar and the salt. Whip on high speed for 8-9 minutes, until glossy.
3. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Scoop the egg-white mixture onto the paper and distribute it evenly. Leave peaks and valleys for texture.
4. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour. The meringue should be crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Let it cool on a baking rack.
For the toppings
1. Make the raspberry sauce. Blend raspberries in a food processor and process until smooth. If you like add 1 cup (or less) sugar to taste.
2. Make the whipped cream. Just before serving, whip two cups of heavy whipping cream with the powdered sugar until peaks form. Add one tablespoon Calvados or Courvoisier (optional) and mix on high for 10 seconds.
To serve
1. Put the baked meringue on a large serving platter.
2. Drop large spoonfuls of whipped cream on the cooled meringue. Drizzle with raspberry sauce, and toss on the toasted hazelnuts. Serve.
Recipe by Alicia Arter. Adapted from “Jamie at Home” by Jamie Oliver, Hyperion Books, 2007
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