7/31/2019 Edible Chicago FallHarvest2012 Go Nuts

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14 ediblechicago | Fall Harvest 2012 Photo Phillippou/shutterstock.c

by Terra Brockman

Every utumn, wen te leves nd te tempertures drop, so do te

wld nuts. and every yer, te Blk Wlnuts tke me by surprse.

i ndvertently step on one, brusng ts green usk so t releses ts

dstntve, srp, lmost trus smell. Ts unmstkble rom

mens one tngte tme or orgng wld nuts s ere.

For people wo grew up wt Blk Wlnuts, te rom nd tste re

pure nostlg. For me, ts te memory o my grndter pkng up

te nuts tt ell rom te bg tree ner te rmouse. he gtered

tem up beore te squrrels dd, nd ten squrreled tem wy n

te bsement were e would mke s wy troug te busels ll

wnter long.

Blk Wlnuts ve strong, evy sell tt s notorously rd to

rk, but my grndter dd just fne plng te nuts on bg pee

o steel on s workben nd usng mmer to rk tem open.

hed rk pe tn ull, nd ten brng tem upstrs to te kte

nd slowly extrt te nuts rom te reves o ter sells. T

would ten be stored n Mson jrs untl my grndmoter used t

nutmets n ookes nd breds, nd o ourse n er mous Bl

Wlnut Lemon Pound cke.

altoug te Blk Wlnut s relted to te Engls Wlnut n

te Persn Wlnut, t seems breed prtwt stronger, mo

omplex ombnton o drk, smoky, erty notes nd srp, ru

ones. and, t s soter, denser texture tn regulr wlnut. St

you n substtute Blk Wlnuts n ny repe llng or wlnu

ltoug you my wnt to lve te mount beuse o te strong

vor. My grndmoter used te nuts exlusvely n bked good

but oter populr uses nlude slds, vegetble dses, re dse

met dses, nd kller e rem nd udge.

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hkry nuts re nter wld nut bundnt n ur

utumn wds. i d never d hkry nuts untl

nebr put sme n tp er pple rsp ne

yer. and ten i wndered wy t d tken me s

ln t tste nut tt ws lterlly under t e

ll, embedded n ts e-sped ull. Lke te Blk

Wlnuts, tey n be llene t rk, but te prze

nsde s wrt t. hkry nuts tste smetn lke

pen, but rer nd erter.

Blk Wlnuts nd hkry nuts re ubqutus n

te deduus rests te Mdwest, nd were n

mprtnt d sure r tusnds yers

n unsturted t nd prten, esy t llet, press,

nd stre r etn truut te wnter mnts.

Nutrent-dense nd delus, tey mde sense ten,

nd tey mke sense nw. Wt uld be mre ll

tn nut ntve t ts re, rvested rm trees tt

rw wtut te sltest elp rm ultvtn, let

lne pestdes r ertlzer? and, wt uld be mre

un tn seekn ut nd pressn yur wn nuts,

ree r te rn?

Wt te rwn nterest n ll ds nd sel-

sufeny, mre new rmers re plntn nut trees

s prt ter dverse, sustnble rm pertns.

andre Vzr, centrl illns Frm Bennns

prrm rdute utlned er Blk Wlnut

prdutn sedule n er busness pln r g Nuts

orrd. Te pln strted wt plntn splns n

yer ne, bennn t rvest te rst nuts n yer

ve, repn te bunty ull rvests n yers 12 t

20, nd ten rdully rvestn sme te trees

r ter vluble lumber n yers 60 nd 70, wtnut-bern mn t n end n yer 120. Yes, se

d 120-yer busness plnsmetn yu dnt

see every dybut pln tt tkes te sevent

enertn nt unt s smetn tt wuld ve

mde te irqus very mrtble.

S ts yer, lk r rmer r rer w rvests

wld nuts. or yu lke te de tern delus

d r ree, sk rund nd yu mt be surprsed t

nd Wlnut nd hkry trees nd ter nuts nerby.

Preprn wld nuts nvlves severl steps: rvestn,

ulln, rkn nd stre. See te sdebr r

quk w-t, r nd n ld-tmer t sw yu terpes. Eter wy, yull ve ret tme n nuts.ec

With a long amily tradition o arming and oraging

in Central Illinois, Terra Brockman writes about

her experience frst hand. She is also the author

o The Seasons on Henrys Farm and is a regular

contributor to Edible Chicago.

Celebrating Conviviality

of the Table for 15 yearsthroughout Chicagoland

Join us! Upcoming events include:Oct. 28: Trattoria Roma with author Rebecca Ffrench

Oct. 30: Carlton Club with Cake Boy Eric Lanlard

Nov. 7: Table 52 with author Norman Van Aken

Nov. 10: Cordon Bleu with chef Austin Yancey

Jan. 13: Katherine Anne Confections

Feb. 2: Medinah Country Club with chef Bryan Panico

Visit chicagogourmets.org orcall 312-777-1090 for more information.

Chicago Gourmets

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www.ediblechicago.com Photo left 54613/shutterstock..com Photo right Elena Elisseeva/shutterstock.com

Pear, Fennel, andBlack Walnut Salad

cup Black Walnuts, toasted

4 cups ennel, cored and sliced

cup white balsamic vinaigrette

1 large or 2 small pears, quartered and

cut into thin slices

1 to 2 ounces goat cheese in

small crumbles

1. Place walnuts, ennel, and vinaigrette in

a mixing bowl, gently toss.

2. Arrange pears on our salad plates, Top

with the ennel/walnut mixture, sprinkle

goat cheese on top.

Vinaigrette

cup olive oil

cup white balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoons honey

salt and pepper

Place ingredients in jar, cover with lid

and shake vigorously.

Black Walnut Pumpkin Pie

1 pie crust

(rozen or home-made)

1 cups light brown sugar,

rmly packed, divided

1 cup Black Walnuts,

nely chopped and toasted

3 tablespoons butter

teaspoon vanilla

2 cups cooked pumpkin or

butternut squash fesh

1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese,

sotened

2 large eggs

2 tablespoons all-purpose four

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

teaspoon ground ginger

teaspoon ground allspice

teaspoon ground nutmeg

Whipped cream (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Put crust into a 9-inch pie plate; old

edges under and crimp. Bake or 6 minutes or until lightly

browned. Remove rom oven, let cool.

2. Increase oven temperature to 425. Combine cup light brown

sugar, Black Walnuts, butter, and vanilla; spread on bottom o

baked pie crust.

3. Beat pumpkin, cream cheese, eggs, and the remaining brown

sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer. Add four,

cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg, beating until blended,

spoon pumpkin mixture over Black Walnut mixture in pie crust.

4. Bake in a preheated 425 oven or 15 minutes. Reduce

temperature to 350, and bake 30 minutes or until pie is set.

Remove pie to a wire rack; cool.

5. Serve warm or chilled with whipped cream, i desired.