The perfect healthy, make-ahead snack recipe, Alton Brown's savory Ginger Almonds are smoky, salty, and a little spicy with an umami twist. Try this recipe today!
These smoky, salty almonds are the perfect healthy snack thanks to an umami punch from Worcestershire sauce. Snacking is not evil. It is, in fact, the secret to weight loss and maintenance. Between meals, grazing helps to keep the metabolism going, thus preventing you from launching on ravenous rampages every time you sit down to a meal. Of course, one must snack wisely, and I wanted something hand-friendly and crunchy and satisfying, as well as healthy. After a bit of research, I settled on the only nut named on the famed Mayo Clinic's list of 10 superfoods. This recipe first appeared in Season 13 of Good Eats. Photo by Lynne Calamia
1dried arbol chile, stem removed and broken into small pieces
1poundwhole almonds
1tablespoonlow-sodium soy sauce
1tablespoonWorcestershire sauce
ACTIVE TIME: 17 minutesminutes
TOTAL TIME: 1 hourhour7 minutesminutes
Yield: 1pound
Procedure
Heat oven to 250ºF. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
Combine the ginger and salt in a large mixing bowl and set aside.
Heat the olive oil and sesame oil in a 12-inch saute pan set over medium-low heat. Add the arbol chile and cook, stirring frequently, until the chile begins to give off an aroma, 30 to 45 seconds. Add the almonds and cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce and cook until reduced slightly and the pan looks dry, about 1 minute. Immediately remove the nuts to the large bowl and toss with the ginger mixture.
Spread the coated nuts into a single layer on the prepared pan and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the pan to a cooling rack until completely cool, at least 30 minutes. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.