Spanish Almonds

Time was running very short this week as we hosted a canapé class with 6 new canapé recipes (on the website soon), so this recipe had to be extremely quick and extremely easy. These spicy roasted almonds make a delicious snack and are a great addition to the tapas recipes that have already been posted. I used a pack of Waitrose blanched almonds as that was all I had. It would be extra special if you can get hold of the Spanish Marcona almonds, and more authentic. Sadly that couldn’t be managed this week, but even using these poor relation almonds, it’s a pretty tasty nibble.

Ingredients

1 100g pack blanched almonds

1 tsp olive oil

Pinch ground cumin

Pinch hot smoked paprika

Pinch cayenne

Salt to taste

Method

Heat oven to 190°c.

Spread almonds out on a baking sheet and roast for 5 minutes - I did try dry frying them, to avoid heating the oven up, but that way they weren't crunchy enough.

In a bowl, mix the olive oil with the spices and the salt. Add more if you like the nuts hotter and spicier.

Tip the hot almonds into the olive oil and spices and mix together. Serve warm or allow them to cool and cover until required. They will keep in an airtight container for several days.