Pure Hazelnut Paste Recipe
It had been a long time since I made hazelnut paste, and with just an afternoon at home, while organizing the pantry, among other foods, there were hazelnuts to consume…
In a month there will be new ones, so we need to use up the leftovers…
Between thoughts and words, I decide how to transform my two kg, which is not a lot but, better to get to work.
First of all, you need to select them to avoid having any unsuitable hazelnuts, then roast them, and finally
I ground some into flour for cakes, one of which is already gone, and I was thinking of making brutti e buoni, but I thought it’s summer, and if I made hazelnut paste, I could use it for semifreddos and creams.
Said and done…
I made two types of paste, one sweet and one neutral, to use in both savory and sweet recipes
The process is very simple, it just requires a little patience.
after roasting the hazelnuts…
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 5 Pieces
- Cooking methods: No cooking
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
Hazelnuts and sugar
- 2.2 lbs roasted hazelnuts (I used my hazelnuts, so I had to roast them first.)
- 3/4 cup sugar
Steps
In a few steps…
If, like me, you have raw hazelnuts to use up, the first step is definitely to roast them. Peel them, mine aren’t perfect, but for the paste, I use those that may still have a bit of skin attached.
Put them in the blender, I grind one and a half hectograms at a time, adjust according to your processor. For this amount, I add only one tablespoon of sugar, to eliminate any slightly bitter aftertaste, blend until it becomes a paste, it only takes a few minutes, no liquids are needed, the oil naturally contained in them acts as an emulsifier. As soon as it turns into a smooth cream, stop; this way you avoid overheating the paste. If you plan to use it for savory dishes as well, do not add sugar.
Before transferring to jars, I prefer to combine all the paste to mix it and obtain a uniform cream, in terms of taste.
Then transfer into glass jars
And sterilize in a water bath if you plan to make a quantity to store long-term, otherwise in the refrigerator it keeps for a week without problems.
It keeps for a week in the fridge, without sterilizing, or in the freezer in appropriate containers; Once sterilized, I don’t store it for more than six to seven months… Then the new hazelnuts come, so I prepare a sufficient quantity, without overdoing it, to renew year by year.
