Roasted Rosemary Cashews

Recipe at a Glance

1 pound raw, unsalted cashews
2 tbs fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped (from about 3-4 sprigs)
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbs light brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs melted butter

Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 8 min
Utensil/bowl use: Minimal – cutting board, knife, measuring spoon, large bowl, small bowl
Serve for: Party food

Before too long, I suspect Supper Before Grace will have a number of party food recipes. I tend to go to a few parties a month and am generally expected to bring some sort of culinary concoction whenever I go. I have since developed an obsessive habit scouring the internet for party food ideas. In particular for the people throwing this week’s party, I have taken on the habit of bringing something with nuts. This habit is simply due to the host’s personal tastes of no meat and no sweets which immediately disqualifies a large number of my already existing party recipes. It also helps that I brought spiced nuts to this host’s first party and have a fondness for keeping with a theme.

When I came across Lottie + Doof’s recipe for Rosemary Cashews, I knew it would be perfect for this party. Internet searches done, I thought nothing more of it until a few moments before the party. I mean, this recipe was going to be great and I had nothing to worry about. I work right by a Trader Joe’s so there was no concern for finding raw cashews, and this recipe could not take anymore than 15 minutes to throw together. So moments before the party, I decide to sample a few and realize that they are fairly salty. Like, so salty that they are perfect with beer and then more beer. This warranted another internet search for Ina Garten’s original take on this recipe and in the process of doing that search, I found The Kitchen Sink’s adaptation as well. Both of these have a bit less salt than the recipe I made and I feel, would have been more to my liking (and it will be the one I am sharing at the end of the post despite taking pictures of the Lottie + Doof recipe). That said, the cashews I brought to the party got me no less than 5 wedding proposals and 3 promises of first born children…all incredibly useful things to me right now. I would have been just as flattered with offers of more beer.

First, gather ingredients. I found my cashews at Trader Joes. These pictures are of Lottie + Doof’s version of the recipe but I have since adapted the recipe to use less salt. The recipe printed here is the adapted version.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Place cashews on a parchment lined baking sheet and roast cashews for about 10 minutes  until heated through. They might brown a little.

Trim the rosemary leaves from the stems and coarsely chop the leaves. I find that rocking the knife back and forth over the leaves while putting pressure on the dull end of the knife with your hand works really well when chopping the leaves.

Chop about 2 tablespoons worth of leaves.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter and add it to a medium mixing bowl.

Add spices and rosemary to bowl and mix thoroughly.

Mix cashews and spiced butter mixture until cashews are well coated. I found it difficult to mix everything without the use of a spatula. Here is my stocking stuffer spatula.

These cashews can be served warm or at room temperature.

Roasted Rosemary Cashews (adapted from here, here, and here)

1 pound raw, unsalted cashews
2 tbs fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped (from about 3-4 sprigs)
1/2 tsp cayenne
1 tbs light brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tbs melted butter

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Spread cashews on a parchement lined baking sheet and roast nuts for about 10 minutes. A few pieces will brown slightly.

Mix melted butter, salt, sugar, cayenne pepper, and chopped rosemary in a medium or large bowl. Add roasted cashews to bowl and mix ingredients thoroughly to coat the cashews. Serve warm or at room temperature.