Citrus and Spice Roasted Almonds

Method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C fan forced, or 180°C conventional, and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. Spread the almonds over the tray in a single layer with space between them. A crowded tray steams the nuts and they never crisp.
3. Roast for 12 minutes, pulling the tray out at 6 for a shake so the edges and the middle swap places.
4. Split one open. The centre should be pale gold and smell toasted. If it is still chalky white, give the tray 2 minutes more.
5. Tip the hot nuts straight into a large bowl, add the olive oil and toss for 20 seconds until every one is glossy.
6. Scatter the Citrus & Spice over in two goes, tossing between them, so it lands on the nuts rather than in a heap on one side.
7. Drop the oven to 150°C fan forced. Spread the coated nuts back over the tray and return them for 4 minutes, which dries the oil and sets the seasoning without browning the citrus.
8. Grate the lemon zest straight over the hot nuts, so the oil in the zest lands on the tray and not on a chopping board.
9. Leave them on the tray, spread out and untouched, until completely cold. Almonds crisp as they cool, and a warm one tastes soft and underdone.
10. Taste a cold one, then add flaky salt only if it wants it. The blend carries sea salt of its own.
11. Stir the macadamias through last, off the heat, and tip the lot into a wide shallow bowl.

How long they stay crisp

An airtight jar in a cool, dark cupboard holds them for two weeks, and they are at their best from the day after making to about day three. Warmth and moisture are what end them, so the shelf above the oven is the wrong home and the fridge is worse again: condensation forms on the coating the moment the jar comes out. Nuts put away even slightly warm sweat in glass and go leathery by morning, which is why the cooling step is not optional.

Common questions

Can I use roasted almonds instead of raw?

Yes, and it turns a 16 minute cook into an 8 minute one. Warm them on a tray at 150°C for 4 minutes, toss with the oil and the blend, then give them 4 minutes back in the oven to set. Buy them unsalted if you can: a salted nut plus a blend that already carries sea salt is one seasoning too many.

Do I need egg white to make the spice stick?

Not at this quantity. A beaten egg white is the trick for heavily sugared nuts, where it sets into a thin brittle shell that holds a wet coating on. Two tablespoons of dry blend on 400g of nuts is well inside what a film of olive oil will carry, and the oil keeps the spice tasting clean rather than muting it under a meringue crust.

How far ahead can I make these for a party?

Three days ahead is the sweet spot and a fortnight is the outer edge. Made on the day they taste raw and a little dusty, because the citrus and the cumin need a night in the jar to settle into the nut oil. Make them on the Wednesday for a Saturday and the kitchen has one less job on the day.

What else does the blend go on?

Anything roasted that would otherwise want a squeeze of lemon at the end. One teaspoon is the right amount for four chicken thighs, worked into a little oil first, and the same spoonful will do a tray of potatoes, cauliflower or chickpeas. The citrusy chicken, fennel and potato traybake builds a whole dinner out of that. Off the heat it goes into yoghurt or into olive oil for bread, and three tablespoons cure a side of fish in our citrus and spice cured salmon.

What else goes out with the bowl

Nuts, olives and something to lean on cover the hour before lunch without opening a cheese, and the rest of that table is in Christmas finger food. Put a bowl of Ottolenghi caramelised sesame cashews, 110g at $14.95, beside this tray for the people who want the sweet end of it. They are made and packed, so nothing about them needs the oven.

Ottolenghi Citrus & Spice is $12.95 for a 50g tin, and this bowl uses about a third of it, so the rest is there for the week it was really bought for. For the season, our Christmas hampers do the same job boxed. Orders placed before 12pm on a weekday are dispatched the same day from our Corio, VIC warehouse, tracked with Australia Post, and shipping is free Australia-wide over $100.