Sweetfern has a beautiful spicy-sweet aroma reminiscent of bay leaves. This uncomplicated recipe uses dried sweetfern leaves to add fragrance and flavor to mixed nuts. They stand on their own as a midday snack, but you can also crush these over a salad, use them to dress up hummus, or add them into the crust on a flaky fish.
This recipe was contributed by Biagio DiSalvo
Watch Biagio’s video making this recipe.
Ingredients*
1 tablespoon powdered sweetfern leaves
OR 1 tbsp powdered bay leaves
2 tbsp coconut sugar
1/2 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 egg white
1 cup almonds
1 cup cashews
Preparation
Preheat oven to 300° Fahrenheit.
In a small bowl, mix powdered sweetfern, coconut sugar, salt, and rosemary.
In a large bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, then add the spice mix.
Pour almonds and cashews into the bowl and mix with a spatula to coat.
Spread the coated nuts on a parchment-lined sheet pan and bake for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice to prevent clusters.
Remove from oven, cool, and store in an airtight container.
The internet says the nuts can stay like this for up to 2 weeks, but they don’t last that long in my kitchen without being eaten so I can’t confirm the 2 week timeline. - Biagio
*Recipe Notes
To create the powdered sweetfern or bay leaves: pulverize the leaves in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, then pass through a mesh strainer.
The nuts may seem tender when you remove them from the oven - don’t fret. They will take on a crunchy texture as they cool.
Ingredient Swaps:
Feel free to change up the nuts used in this recipe (how about some Hickory Nuts of Black Walnuts?), just make sure you’re starting with raw nuts: unroasted and unsalted.
If you don’t have coconut sugar, you can substitute an equal amount of brown sugar.
Dietary Swaps:
Vegan: replace the egg white with a flax seed or chia seed “egg” by dissolving the crushed seeds in water.
What do you think of this recipe? I want to hear if you made it, if you didn’t, or if it inspired you to try something else!