Don’t Forget to Add Nuts to Stews and Soups

This nice New York weather is trying to fool me, but I know it’s not soup season yet. As soon as I start filling my fridge with fresh fruit, spring will turn around and give me a big middle finger of 50 degrees and rain. So I’ll keep my soup pots on hand for a couple more weeks, thanks a lot, and you should too. Join me as I hold on to hot food a little more. If you get bored, you can always add some unexpected texture with a handful of nuts.

Adding nuts to soups, curries, and stews is quite common in many Asian, African, Eastern European cuisines, and more. They are not just sprinkled on top for a crunch, but stewed and softened right in the dish. My mom always tells me that massaman should have peanuts, but if you don’t have any, you can use whatever nuts you have on hand; and malai kofta is a creamy Indian dish in which cashews are added in a variety of ways to create flavor and add two different textures.

When you add nuts to a liquid-based dish that simmers for any length of time, such as soup, stew, curry, or chili, the nuts absorb some of that liquid and become tender, much like beans or root vegetables might start to boil. crispy, and after stewing become soft. But the nuts don’t just become soft, they become velvety, retaining a shadow of their former texture. Simply put, they have a “chew” to them. The nuts won’t dissolve in the dish unless you mix them, so boiled cashews will look the same as dry-roasted ones. When you bite into it, your idea of ​​nuts in a stew will change. The texture is tender and pliable, and the heated fats burst forward to flavor the entire bite.

Incorporating nuts into your meals couldn’t be easier. In fact, it’s almost sloppy – an afterthought about emptying the closet. Prepare soup, curry, chili, or stew as you normally would, and after you’ve added the liquid ingredient, toss in a handful of nuts. There is no need to measure, a handful is just the right amount to find a nut every two or three bites. There is usually no need to grind them, most nuts are relatively small initially and in my experience you can’t overcook the nuts. No matter how long it takes to cook the rest of the ingredients, it is enough for nuts. Even if cooked for a short time, the nuts will be a pleasant mixture of soft and strong, but no longer crunchy. Typically, after 20 minutes, peanuts and cashews become soft while retaining some of their firm texture. After 30-40 minutes, they should become quite soft. Cooking them in a slow cooker or instant pot will likely make the nuts as soft as possible.

I use peanuts, cashews, and almonds most often in my chili and stews, rather interchangeably because they seem to go with everything, but pistachios, pine nuts, and hazelnuts are also great choices. Larger nuts such as walnuts and pecans are not a common soup nut for me, but they will definitely work just as well. Lobio, a Georgian-style bean stew, uses chopped walnuts for texture and flavor. If you’re dealing with larger pecans or walnuts, it’s a good idea to cut them in half or chop them to make them bigger and cut down on cooking time.

Adding nuts to dishes is a nice accent to the rest of the ingredients, but not the main thing. When in doubt, start with a small handful. Nuts, unless they are mixed together, do not really fill the whole dish with their flavor. While I’m sure nut lovers will love it, this is one of those rare moments where you can go ahead and try something new, and if that’s not your vibe, push them aside and it’s like they’ve never been here. But you should try it at least once. You can’t say you don’t like something if you’ve never tried it.