Antonio Carluccio's Vegetables: hazelnut and pistachio crunch recipe
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Ingredients
*2–3 sheets of rice paper
*400g golden caster sugar
*100g runny honey
*finely grated zest of 1 orange
*250g shelled hazelnuts
*250g shelled pistachio nuts
*1 lemon, halved
Method:
1. Line two baking sheets with rice paper.
2. Put the sugar and honey into a large, heavy-based saucepan, and melt together gently.
3. When melted, raise the heat slightly and cook until the sugar turns a light brown in colour.
4. Add the orange zest and stir for a minute with a wooden spoon. Add the hazelnuts and pistachios, and stir together until the nuts are coated with syrup.
5. Pour this mixture on to the paper-lined baking sheets, and use the lemon halves as spatulas to spread the mixture out to about 2.5cm in thickness. The lemons will not stick, unlike a wooden or plastic spatula.
6. While still warm, cut the sticky mixture into whatever shapes you like – cubes of about 4cm square are best.
7. When completely cold, break the croccante into pieces, and store in an airtight jar.
More from Vegetables:
Vegetables by Antonio Carluccio (Quadrille, £25) Photography: Laura Edwards.