Macadamias

I love macadamias. Benjamin (my Other Half) and I were at the Queen Victoria Market this afternoon looking for inspiration for dinner, and we came across a nut stall selling unshelled macadamias at $8/kg. We bought 500g, as well as a leek from one of the fruit and veg vendors, and some "Goats Cheese Surprise" (it has tomato and chilli pesto on top) and beautiful Sicilian olives from one of the delicatessens.

When we got home, Benjamin had ... well, I won't say fun, cracking half the macadamias on the concrete outside, but he did a wonderful job. Unfortunately, without the right tools, the nuts tend to split on impact, but it does mean you don't have to do much further to the nuts before cooking them.

Something I might mention now, while I remember, is that Benjamin is a coeliac; ie: he has a gluten intolerance. You might have noticed on my last entry, dear reader, the "allergies: gluten free" tag down the bottom. I intend to tag both gluten free and dairy free recipes, with a view to adding more tags as my blog increases in popularity (well, I can hope, right?). In light of this, may I present tonight's recipe:

 

Spring Spaghetti with Sicilian Olives

Serves 2

Ingredients:

250g gluten free spaghetti (I like the San Remo gluten free range; it's tasty and usually readily available at supermarkets in the Health Food aisle)

1 leek, pale section only, sliced thinly

1 clove garlic, finely chopped

a handful of macadamias, roughly chopped

a handful of Sicilian olives, pits removed, sliced

macadamia oil if you have it; olive oil if you don't

rind and juice of 1 lemon

pepper

Method:

Cook the spaghetti according to packet instructions or until al dente.

Meanwhile, dry roast the macadamias in a pan until aromatic and slightly browned. Set aside. Heat oil in the pan and add leek, garlic and olives. Cook until leek is soft. Add macadamias and lemon rind and remove from heat. Drain the spaghetti, add to leek mixture; squeeze lemon juice over the spaghetti and toss to combine. Add pepper to taste.

Typing this up now, I've just had another idea: to add a bit of saltiness, you could gently mix some crumbled feta through the spaghetti. I would suggest a nice creamy Danish feta. I wish I had thought of this earlier: I have some in the fridge!