Toasted Nuts

Nuts are perhaps the most commonly used crunchy ingredient. The rule of thumb when toasting them is never to mix different types of nut on the same tray as they cook at different speeds. Set your oven to 160°C, gas 3, lay the nuts on a tray and bake until they colour to a good golden brown. Shake them from time to time to ensure that they colour evenly. After you take them from the oven, they will continue to cook for a few minutes more, so keep an eye on them as a burnt nut can easily ruin a salad. A pine nut will take about 8-10 minutes to toast, a cashew about 15. You can also cook nuts in a dry pan but I find this less effective, and often the nut will burn in patches yet still be raw on the inside.