Cooking with Nut Butters

[foodie52]

In today's New York forum, Fat Guy talks about a meal he had at ADNY. He describes a dish of razor clams which are topped with almond butter and then broiled.

This got me to thinking: what are the applications for nut butters? Of course I've used peanut butter to make Thai peanut sauce. But there is such a variety of nut butters available: cashew, almond, macademia, hazelnut.

How do you use them?

[Gifted Gourmet]

This got me to thinking: what are the applications for nut butters? Of course I've used peanut butter to make Thai peanut sauce. But there is such a variety of nut butters available: cashew, almond, macademia, hazelnut.

How do you use them?

I have made this with much success:

Carrots with cashew butter

and then this is one by Alton Brown, eG's special guest this week:

Cashew sauce by Alton Brown

[KAB]

I do a couple of things with nut butters.

At the risk of sounding like an old hippy, dark miso mixed with almond butter or tahini is a delicious spread for crackers or bread. Almond or hazelnut butter mixed with melted chocolate is a nice filling for sandwich cookies, especially the hazelnut which is Nutella-like.

Almond butter is good made into a dressing - add a little roasted almond oil, lemon juice, salt, etc. - on broccoli and grean beans.

Not made of nut butter, but there is a Middle-Eastern dish of white fish baked under a blanket of tahini mixed with water, lemon juice, garlic, salt and topped with caramelized onions and pine nuts. This recipe is similar:

Baked Fish with Tahini Sauce

Karen

Edited May 23, 2004 by KAB (log)

[fifi]

Welcome KAB. That sounds really good.

Cashews are probably my favorite nut. (Well, macadamias are gaining on 'em.) However, the few times I have purchased cashew butter, I was disappointed. It just didn't really taste like cashews. Is it the brand? (Don't remember what I tried.) Would making it from AB's recipe make a difference? Can I assume he is using just roasted nuts and not dry roasted?

[KAB]

Welcome KAB

Thanks fifi. I'm still "feeling" my way around.

Karen

Edited May 23, 2004 by KAB (log)

[laurel]

Nut butters seem to be pretty similar in terms of texture and cooking properties, so you could experiment with different types of nuts in your peanut sauce recipe (and other recipes..) for different flavors. I particularly like "thai walnut sauce" on spinach and tofu...

[curlywurlyfi]

have never tried it using a butter, but have in the past made a vaguely Spanish chicken stew where you slowly simmer browned chicken pieces in a sauce of finely ground almonds, dry sherry, chopped parsley, chicken stock and some garlic. Thicken at the end if needed with a couple of hard boiled egg yolks, pounded then stirred in. I'm sure you could adapt that to almond butter?

also, I think a slice of banana bread would be pretty spiffy toasted and spread with hazelnut butter...