Notes on nuts

Hi friends,

Welcome to The Confident Cook :)

In this newsletter I'll be sharing tips and tricks I've learned from my years of recipe writing work, my London restaurant chef training and my holistic nutrition certification. Think of them as mini deep dives into subjects to help you find more confidence in your cooking.

If there is anything you'd like me to write about, let me know!

In this edition, I'm going to run through one of the heavy lifters in my cooking, one that can often be the missing piece of creaminess and depth of flavour that a recipe needs. It's often the essential 'Fat' element in Salt Fat Acid Heat (you can go back to my first newsletter for more on this).

Nuts and seeds bring healthy fats, a natural creaminess, and a depth of flavour that can bring the indulgence to a recipe that you might think of relying on dairy for. These notes are mostly about nut butters blended into sauces, but of course there are so many ways to use them whole to bring texture to a dish. I might come back to that one!

Here are some of my favourite ways to use them in cooking:

Peanut butter - an unexpected one

Miso Mushroom One-Pot Pasta Bake

Peanut butter is destined for more than toast. In my miso mushroom one-pot pasta bake, it acts like cream, melting into the sauce to give it body and a nutty depth of flavour. Whisked with miso and stock, it creates a savoury, umami-rich sauce that clings to the pasta and mushrooms. It's also even better if it's roasted peanut butter. If you like texture (I do), then a chunky, deep roasted peanut butter is a real treat here. I love the Manilife ones.

Favourite Combos: Peanut butter pairs so well with miso and mushrooms, all deep umami flavours. So it also works well to thicken a miso soup or a noodle soup broth. Whisk smooth pb through at the end! I also almost always add peanut butter to my curries.

Cashews for béchamel - a classic one

Deconstructed Lasagna and a Creamy Courgette Gratin

Cashews are the go-to nut for creamy sauces because they are mild in flavour, quite soft so are easy to blend, and are high in healthy fats which brings a rich creaminess when blended. If you don't have a good blender, cashew butter is a great hack, as you can just whisk it and it's already smooth. In my deconstructed lasagna, cashew butter is stirred into a quick cream, creating a luscious, velvety layer to top the tomato lentil sauce and lasagne sheets.

Favourite Combos: Cashews are probably the most adaptable because they have a very mild flavour. But they can also be quite sweet if they aren't balanced out with stronger flavours. My favourite pairing for a classic creamy sauce is cashew with garlic and onion powder, lemon and lots of salt. Add herbs, roasted garlic or sautéed cavolo nero for different flavours.

Almonds for curries - a sophisticated one

All the creamy curries!

You might be familiar with adding peanut butter to a curry, but have you ever swapped it for almond butter? There is something about almonds that feels more special and a little more grown up.
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Favourite Combos: Almond butter has more of a flavour to offer than cashew butter, so it can fight with flavours if they are not well matched, so I don't use it in place of cashews or cashew butter. I've usually found it to work really well in place peanut butter though, giving a slightly more subtle flavour that is absolutely delicious in curries, satay style sauces and marinades.

Tahini - my favourite one!

If you're familiar with my cooking, you'll have probably noticed that I am a bit obsessed with tahini. I might write a whole newsletter (or love letter) on tahini soon. But for now, I'll explain why it's so great in the category of making things creamy and luxurious.

Favourite Combos: I use it to hold up pasta sauces or soups made of blended beans or silken tofu. It provides the much needed fats (tofu and beans have none) that emulsify when blended together, and turns a thin and flat sauce into a rich and full bodied one.

It's also great as a topping for soups because you just need to grab a spoon and generously drizzle over the top for an extra layer of flavour and depth.

Notes on versatility

• Soups: Blend in a spoonful of tahini, nut butter or raw cashews to thicken and enrich without cream.
• Sauces: Cashew cream, almond butter, or tahini can all build body and flavour into pasta sauces, curries, and gravies.
• Dressings: Tahini whisked with lemon, garlic, and water makes a quick, creamy dressing. Nut butters do the same with soy, ginger, or chilli.
• Toppings: Toasted nuts add crunch, flavour, and healthy fats to salads, soups, and bowls.
• TOP TIP: Buying nut butters like casher butter or almond butter is a great hack to save you blending them, especially if you dont have a great blender.

Notes on nutrition

Beyond flavour, nuts and seeds are packed with nutrients

• They’re rich in healthy unsaturated fats, which support heart health.
• They provide protein to help you feel fuller for longer.
• They’re a source of vitamins and minerals like vitamin E, magnesium, zinc, and selenium.
• Many contain fibre, which supports digestion and blood sugar balance.

Bringing it all together

So next time you’re making a soup, sauce, or bake, think about whether a handful of nuts, a spoonful of nut butter, or a drizzle of tahini could take it to the next level.

The Big Veg Blueprint

I am currently building an online cooking course that I am so excited about. It's going to be a structured framework to master flavour, build skills, and cook healthy, whole foods with confidence.

Let me know below if you're interested in helping me shape this course for you as I create it. I'll be offering a discount to this focus group as a thank you for helping me!

Hope that was helpful, feel free to email me back with any feedback, thoughts or nut related Q's.

Lots of love,
Christina xx