How to toast nuts and spices, plus 5 recipes

When you’re looking for a way to add a little extra depth to a recipe that includes nuts or spices, consider toasting them before adding them to a dish. Toasting releases the flavor and oils in the ingredients.

The method is simple: Toast nuts on a sheet pan in a 350- to 375-degree oven for several minutes until lightly darkened and fragrant. As with spices, watch that the nuts don’t overcook in the oven -- they can go from nicely toasted to tragically burnt quickly.

Toast whole spices on the stovetop using a heavy-bottomed saute pan over moderate heat for just a few minutes. Toast the spices, stirring them or shaking the pan frequently, so they toast evenly; you’ll know they’re ready when they’re aromatic. Watch the pan closely, so the spices don’t burn.

Now that you know the basics, here are five recipes that call for toasted nuts.

Bucatini with golden raisins, fennel and pine nuts

Recipe: Bucatini with golden raisins, fennel and pine nuts

(Brian Vander Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Bucatini pasta is flavored with a simple combination of garlic, anchovy, fennel seeds and fresh parsley, with golden raisins. Stir in toasted pine nuts just before serving.

Mixed greens with chicken, goat cheese and pecans

Recipe: Mixed greens with chicken, goat cheese and pecans

(Liz O. Baylen / Los Angeles Times)

Take some greens, add a little of this or that and get creative. In this variation, toss together chicken, goat cheese, toasted pecans, olives, red onions and spinach drizzled with a quick sherry vinaigrette.

Maple baked apples with dried fruit and nuts

Stuffed apples are always a fun dessert, and the dish requires very little active work. Core half a dozen firm baking apples and stuff the cavities with brown sugar, dried cherries and figs, along with toasted almonds and pecans, then bake until tender. Spoon over a sweet cider maple syrup glaze just before serving.

Salad of dandelion greens, blood oranges, goat cheese and pecans

Recipe: Salad of dandelion greens, blood oranges, goat cheese and pecans

(Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Toss tender, new dandelion leaves with sliced onion, toasted pecans and crumbled goat cheese, sweetening the salad with raisins and blood orange segments.

Clementine’s butterscotch brownies

Recipe: Clementine’s butterscotch brownies

(Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Toasted walnuts add some crunch to these butterscotch brownies.

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