Roasting hazelnuts makes them crisp and crunchy, and enhances their distinct hazelnut flavor. It also helps to loosen their papery, slightly bitter skins, so they peel off easily.
Prep time: PT1M
Cook time: PT10M
Total time: PT11M
Ingredients
1 cup hazelnuts ((whole, shelled, can either be unpeeled or peeled/blanched))
Categories
Basics
Cuisine
Mediterranean
Mediterranean Diet
Steps
Preheat oven to 250 °F
To roast the hazelnuts, spread them in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast the hazelnuts in the oven until they start to smell wonderfully like nuts, and their skins become blistered and loose, about 10 minutes, stirring them a few times. Keep an eye on them to make sure they don't over-brown. You want them lightly golden and crisp.
To remove the brown papery skins (optional), immediately gather the warm hazelnuts up in a clean kitchen cloth* and rub them together to release the skins. You can expect some of the skins to remain stubbornly attached. In my experience, rarely do 100% of the skins come off. Note, as they cool, they also become more difficult to peel.
