Walnut

About

Walnuts are the world's second most popular nut after almonds, often taken for granted in cakes and candy where their mild flavor is less notable than their texture. Toasting brings out a fuller character, with stronger nutty notes and a hint of nicotine-like bitterness, and walnuts pair especially well with other "brown" flavors such as cinnamon, nutmeg, maple syrup, honey, and pears. They can also be bought pickled, steeped in syrup, made into liqueurs such as nocino or vin de noix, or pressed into walnut oil, which makes a good dressing for vegetables and salads.

Pairs well with walnut

• CiOrangeWalnuts and clementine segments combine well in a relish with cranberries, a salad with bitter greens, or stirred into thick yogurt with…
• SuGarlicAillade, a sauce of pounded garlic and walnuts from the Languedoc region, dates back centuries and was admired even outside France despite…
• SpCinnamonWalnuts pair naturally with autumnal flavors like cinnamon, toffee, maple syrup, and apple.
• FrAppleThe two share robust autumnal flavors and combine well with beets, orange and watercress in a salad reminiscent of a New England fall.
• RoChocolateA classic brownie pairing, also used in chocolate bread-and-butter pudding or combined with caramel to make "turtle" flavor, named for…
• EaMushroomBoth have a woody character: mushrooms lean toward the heavy, damp woodiness of a forest floor, walnuts toward the drier, sweeter scent of…
• MeBeefPickled walnuts, popular in England since the 18th century, are preserved in vinegar while still green and unshelled; the result is very…
• MaShellfishA well-known American-Chinese restaurant dish pairs deep-fried shrimp tossed in honey-lemon mayonnaise with candied walnuts, combining…
• GrAniseCrushed anise or fennel seeds stirred into a sticky walnut or pecan pie filling cut through its heavy sweetness with a fresh note.
• FfVanillaBlack walnut, native to northeastern America, has a bolder, fruitier, muskier flavor than the common Persian (English) walnut, lacking the…
• MeChickenGround nuts thicken and enrich savory stews, as in Turkish Circassian chicken (poached, shredded chicken in a sauce of onion, garlic,…
• GrChiliChiles en nogada are green chiles stuffed and served with a white walnut sauce and red pomegranate seeds, a dish from Puebla, Mexico,…
• ChHard CheeseFresh "wet" walnuts, harvested before drying, have a milky flavor that complements strong cheeses like Parmesan and pecorino, echoing a…
• RoCoffeeWalnuts have a faintly bitter, almost smoky character that pairs naturally with coffee, most classically in coffee-and-walnut cake, which…
• ChGoat CheeseAt Persian restaurants, a block of salty white cheese similar to feta is often scattered with toasted walnuts and served alongside sabzi…
• CrBananaBanana pairs with walnut both fresh -- sliced into coins, topped with a walnut half and a dab of dulce de leche -- and in baking, where…
• GrParsleyParsley's freshness balances walnut's woody astringency in a pesto-like sauce, sautéed garlic, chopped walnuts and parsley in olive oil,…
• EaCeleryCelery and walnut share an aromatic compound called phthalide (also found in lovage), which is part of why they work so well together in…
• ChBlue CheeseA classic pairing; toasted walnuts can themselves develop faintly blue-cheese-like notes.
• EaBeetRoasted beet and sweet potato chunks combine well with broken walnut pieces mixed into cooled cooked red quinoa (which itself has a…
• FrPearA mellow autumn salad pairing, classically brightened with blue cheese, sliced pears tossed with bitter leaves like watercress or…
• EaEggplantThe pairing is common in Russian, Turkish and Georgian cooking.
• FrGrapeFresh walnuts and muscat-flavored grapes are a classic autumn pairing, particularly with the richly sweet Italia grape variety, which is…
• SpParsnipBoth bring a woody character to the pairing; using younger parsnips, or trimming the tough cores from older ones, keeps it from becoming…
• SuBroccoliCombined in pasta dishes or stir-fries, where broccoli adds a lighter, vegetable counterpoint to richer walnut-based preparations.